TX14: Def’s gf’s private search of his cell phone finding CP wasn’t unreasonable search

Defendant’s girlfriend had free access to his cell phone because the password on the phone was shared with her and it was the same as the PIN on his debit card which she also used. She conducted a valid private search of his cell phone when looking for pictures of herself and her daughter when she found child pornography on the phone and then reported him to the police. The Texas exclusionary rule does not require exclusion. Thomas v. State, 2017 Tex. App. LEXIS 9281 (Tex. App. – Houston (14th Dist.) Oct. 3, 2017).

Admission there was an open container in the car was probable cause to search the car for it and others. Elrod v. State, 2017 Tex. App. LEXIS 9314 (Tex. App. – Texarkana Oct. 4, 2017).*