Chief’s Counsel: Do I Really Need a Warrant?

The U.S. Supreme Court has decided the lingering question of whether officers need a warrant to search information contained on a cellphone by answering with a resounding “get a warrant!” After listening to the oral arguments in both Riley v. California and U.S. v. Wurie, it is not a surprise that the court was reluctant to establish an exception to the rights afforded by the Fourth Amendment, but is the three word phrase “get a warrant” that has summarized the opinion in the cases really all officers need to know?