Can Your Phone Testify Against You?

“David Ridley was pulled over by San Diego police in 2009 because his car registration had expired. During the traffic stop, police found two loaded guns and on examining his smartphone discovered text messages and videos they associated with a local gang. The police arrested Riley and seized his phone”(14).  Later in the case it was discovered that the police found another set of text messages that let Ridley to be convicted of attempted murder. The police found messages that linked to a shooting that thus solved the case and Ridley being the murder.  Ridley was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison.

The Supreme Court unanimously favored Ridley’s case and ruled against the police. The court was able to rule against the police because of our fourth amendment right for the right to privacy. Without a warrant or Ridley’s permission, the court ruled that it was against his right to privacy for them to seize and search his phone.

This was a landmark case because, “the ruling, which was applauded by privacy advocates, is the latest example of how the courts are trying to apply the basic rights enshrined in the Constitution to life in the 21st century”(14). When the founding fathers originally wrote the fourth amendment, they intended it to be towards British soldiers and that they were not allowed to entire someone’s home without being authorized first. However, when soldiers were entering homes, they were in search for private documents, which can now be found on someone’s phone. Chief Justice Roberts stated, “The fact that technology now allows an individual to carry such information in his hand does not make the information any less worthy of the protection for which the Founders fought.”(15)

The Ridley Vs. California case was a case that highlighted our fourth amendment right and gave justice to David Ridley by allowing him is right to privacy, whether the right was intended to be for a home or a cell phone.