NC: Consent to search a computer and smartphone did not include external storage devices in the computer bag

Specific consent to search a laptop and a smartphone did not include a SIM card or other storage devices found in a computer bag. Defendant had a reasonable expectation of privacy in them comparable to the cell phone in Riley because of the amount of data they could hold. State v. Ladd, 2016 N.C. App. LEXIS 288 (March 15, 2016):

The same analysis applies to the search of the digital data on the external data storage devices in this case. Depending on their storage capacities, external data storage devices can often contain as much, if not more, personal information as a modern cell phone. External hard drives, in particular, can hold the entire contents of an individual’s personal computer—all of their photographs, personal information and documents, work documents, tax forms, bank statements, and more. The information contained in these devices can span the course of many years and are capable of containing the “sum of an individual’s private life.” Id. We do not agree with the State’s assertion that Defendant had no reasonable expectation of privacy in these devices and the information they contained to permit a search without a warrant.

As in Clyburn and Riley, the search of the external data storage drives did not further any governmental interest in protecting officer safety or in preventing the destruction of evidence. Defendant’s privacy interests in the digital data stored on these storage devices are both reasonable and substantial. The trial court erred by concluding Defendant did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the contents of his external data storage devices and by upholding the non-consensual search of the external data storage devices.