CA7: Pre-Riley warrantless cell phone search saved by GFE

Defendant’s cell phone was searched without a warrant pre-Riley under law at the time. “If the evidence collected during the search was to be admitted, he contends, it was only through the application of the good-faith exception recognized in Davis v. United States, 564 U.S. 229, 241 (2011), and he argues that his case does not fit within Davis. We all agree that this was a close call. In the end, however, we conclude that although there was no binding precedent that would have exempted this search from the exclusionary rule, the independent-source rule allowed the admission of the limited evidence the government used. We therefore affirm Berrios’s conviction.” United States v. Berrios, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 6472 (7th Cir. Mar. 5, 2021).

A digital camera was seized as a potential weapon. A second search warrant was issued for the contents of the camera, but it was not challenged for probable cause or particularity, the defense conceding it was precise. That being the issue, the Fourth Amendment was not violated. State v. Depina, 2021 R.I. LEXIS 12 (Mar. 3, 2021).*