Ohio Justices - Cell Phone Searches Require Warrant: Via NYTimes.com .

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- The Ohio Supreme Court said Tuesday police officers must obtain a search warrant before scouring the contents of a suspect's cell phone, unless their safety is in danger.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio described the ruling as a landmark case. The issue appears never to have reached another state high court or the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Ohio high court ruled 5-4 in favor of Antwaun Smith, who was arrested on drug charges after he answered a cell phone call from a crack cocaine user acting as a police informant.

Officers took Smith's cell phone when he was arrested and, acting without a warrant and without his consent, searched it. They found a call history and stored numbers that showed Smith had previously been in contact with the drug user.

Smith was charged with cocaine possession, cocaine trafficking, tampering with evidence and two counts of possession of criminal tools.

During his trial, Smith argued that the evidence obtained through the cell phone search was inadmissible because it violated the constitutional ban on unreasonable search and seizure.

Smith's attorney, Craig Jaquith, said the law needs to account for technological advances.

''People keep their e-mail, text messages, personal and work schedules, pictures, and so much more on their cell phones,'' Jaquith said in a statement. ''I can't imagine that any cell phone user in Ohio would want the police to have access to that sort of personal information without a warrant. Today, the Ohio Supreme Court properly brought the Fourth Amendment into the 21st century.''

Stephen Haller, a Greene County prosecutor, said the court created a new section of law pertaining to cell phones. He said he will decide within two weeks whether to appeal the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.

''The majority here has announced this broad, sweeping new Fourth Amendment rule that basically is at odds with decisions of other courts,'' Haller said.

The trial court that admitted Smith's phone records cited a 2007 federal court decision that found that a cell phone is similar to a closed container found on a suspect and therefore subject to search without a warrant. Smith was convicted of all charges and sentenced to 12 years in prison.

A state appeals court upheld the trial judge's ruling in a 2-1 decision.

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On the Net:

Ruling: http://www.sconet.state.oh.us/rod/docs/pdf/0/2009/2009-Ohio-6426.pdf

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