S.D.Cal.: Text messages legally searched at the border; cell phone otherwise searched with warrant

Defendant entered the United States at San Ysidro and her car was subjected to a search finding 3 kg of methamphetamine. She denied meeting anyone in Mexico on that trip. Officers looked at her cell phone and found text messages showing she met with Chava. They confronted her with that, and she said she forgot about meeting Chava. A search warrant was issued for detailed forensic search of the phone. The first search of the text messages was reasonable under the Fourth Amendment under Cotterman. The second search under the search warrant was justified by the initial look at the texts coupled with her denial. United States v. Hernandez, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15884 (S.D.Cal. Feb. 8, 2016).

The ASP Commission’s suspension of the trooper for intentionally conducting an illegal search of a car was supported by the record and affirmed. Woodward v. Ark. State Police Comm’n, 2016 Ark. App. 97, 2016 Ark. App. LEXIS 93 (Feb. 10, 2016).*