Petitioner John Riley's Case: Riley V. California

Petitioner David Leon Riley was originally stopped for a traffic violation. The registration tags on the car that Riley was driving were currently expired. During the traffic stop the police officer also learned that Riley’s driver license was suspended. Police policy required the police officer to impound the vehicle because Riley’s license was suspended. Continuing to follow police policy a second police officer performed an inventory search of Riley’s car. The search led to Riley’s arrest for possession of two loaded handguns that were found under the hood of the car. The officer also proceeded to seize Riley’s cell phone which was located in his pocket. About two hours after the arrest a gang unit detective analyzed the content on Riley’s cell phone. As a result, Riley was tied to a shooting that had occurred several weeks early. In relation to the shooting Riley was charged with firing at an occupied vehicle, attempted murder, and assault with

Robert mentioned that Chimel v. California works as precedent for the decision made in Riley v. California. Robert also included that cell phones in today’s era have enough storage capacity that a person’s entire life can be found on the device. Therefore, they should be protected by the 4th amendment right. Samuel Alito also gave a concurring option, but found the final decision somewhat questionable. Alito argues that the final decision in Riley v. California can create anomalies within their system. Alito mentions that under current law police officers are allowed to seize and analyze hard copies of information found on a suspect, but not cell phone data. Furthermore, Alito suggests that congress and legislature might need to consider creating new laws that make a distinction between the different types of categories of information and or other