Hours later, investigators bypassed the password and searched through the data on the device without a search warrant.
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To identify a bank robber, prosecutors in Connecticut obtained records for 169 phones in 2009 without a search warrant.
In California and other states, police can legally search phones even without a warrant, though courts around the country are still producing conflicting rulings on the issue.
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Another, and perhaps more perturbing, part of the same bill also seeks to circumvent restrictions on obtaining private messages and information from social networking sites without a search warrant.
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In a landmark case in December, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that the government violated the Fourth Amendment when it obtained 27, 000 emails without a search warrant.
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Magistrate Smith said he was puzzled by cellphone-tracking requests when he was new to the bench: he couldn't find a provision in the law allowing police to track a phone for as long as 60 days without a search warrant.
The embassy says the police raid was carried out without a proper search warrant and that no evidence against Mr Saboor was found.
This case and a separate and still pending appeal over police intrusions into homes and cars could have a far-reaching impact on when a person's private contents can be subjected to a search without clear probable cause or a valid warrant.
Thus, the police can serve the ISP providers with a search warrant and get the information turned over without notifying an e-mail account holder.
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If the po-po suspect that your e-mail reveals evidence of criminal activity, they can get a search warrant and start word-searching your archives without your ever being told.
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Diaz (holding that a police officer can search the contents of a cellphone after a lawful arrest without a warrant).
Police were free to employ the tactic for any reason without showing probable cause to a magistrate and getting a search warrant, the government said.
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