GA: Three year delay in searching cell phone not unreasonable on these facts

Nearly three year delay between seizure of defendant’s cell phone and electronics and their search was not unreasonable here where defendant was in jail throughout and thus he had a far diminished possessory interest. Nelson v. State, S21A0773 (Ga. Sept. 8, 2021):

This case presents unusual facts and an extremely lengthy delay. But given the government’s strong interest in holding the devices at issue, Nelson’s significantly reduced possessory interest in the devices, and the consequently limited nature of the State’s interference with that interest, even weighed against the lengthy duration of the delay and lack of consent to the seizure, the trial court was authorized to conclude that the delay in securing the 2020 warrants did not violate the Fourth Amendment. Compare Rosenbaum, 305 Ga. at 451-455 (2), 826 S.E.2d 18 (totality of circumstances confirmed trial court’s conclusion that 539-day delay in securing warrants for search of electronic devices seized incident to arrest was unreasonable, where State made no showing of particular complexity, difficulty in drafting the warrant, or competing demands on a limited number of officers, and record showed that defense had sought return of the devices for a year and a half).