"Last week, EFF, along with the Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan, ACLU, and ACLU of Michigan, filed an amicus brief in People v. Carson in the Supreme Court of Michigan, challenging the constitutionality of the search warrant of Mr. Carson’s smart phone.

In this case, Mr. Carson was arrested for stealing money from his neighbor’s safe with a co-conspirator. A few months later, law enforcement applied for a search warrant for Mr. Carson’s cell phone. The search warrant enumerated the claims that formed the basis for Mr. Carson’s arrest, but the only mention of a cell phone was a law enforcement officer’s general assertion that phones are communication devices often used in the commission of crimes. A warrant was issued which allowed the search of the entirety of Mr. Carson’s smart phone, with no temporal or category limits on the data to be searched. Evidence found on the phone was then used to convict Mr. Carson.

On appeal, the Court of Appeals made a number of rulings in favor of Mr. Carson, including that evidence from the phone should not have been admitted because the search warrant lacked particularity and was unconstitutional. The government’s appeal to the Michigan Supreme Court was accepted and we filed an amicus brief."

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/01/eff-michigan-supreme-court-cell-phone-search-warrants-must-strictly-follow-fourth

#USA #Michigan #Surveillance #Cellphones #FourthAmendment #PoliceState #Privacy