CRJ501 WK2 JOURNAL

Week Two Journal: 4th Amendment and Cellular Telephone Searches

Recently, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 9-0 decision that law enforcement officers must obtain a search warrant prior to conducting a search of an individual's cellular telephone. Failure on the part of law enforcement officials to obtain the necessary search warrant would render any information acquired during such a search inadmissible in a court of law. Police organizations contend that searching suspects’ cell phones is a vital part of the duty to protect officers during the course of an arrest. Privacy advocates maintain that contents contained within an individual’s cell phone should be considered private, similar to a home or an office.

Analyze the application of the Constitution to the operational functions of the police. Identify ethical issues relevant to the Court’s ruling, and explore such questions as whether arresting officers might be endangered due to the Court's ruling. Consider whether the Court’s decision incapacitates the police as they attempt to maintain order and arrest criminal perpetrators. Your journal entry this week should be at least one page in length.

Carefully review the Grading Rubric  (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your journal entries.