In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Ontario, California, Police Department did not violate Sergeant Jeff Quon’s privacy rights when the department read text messages sent on his department-issued twoway pager. The department became aware of Quon’s text messages to his estranged wife and to his girlfriend—a police department employee—when the chief requested an audit of the text message usage to determine whether the department’s character limit was high enough to meet officers’ work communications needs. Quon sent messages that were described by the trial court as “sexually explicit in nature.” The department conducted an internal affairs investigation and disciplined Quon. The wife and the girlfriend also joined the lawsuit as plaintiffs. A jury sided with the defendants. However, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed, holding that the search was unreasonable. The Supreme Court overturned the Ninth Circuit Court decision.