CA Governor Brown Approves Warrantless Cellphone Searches
By vetoing a bill that would force law enforcement officials to obtain search warrants before opening up and sifting through the cellphone of a person, Democratic, California Governor Jerry Brown has approved of warrantless searches and seizures of cellphones in the state. The searches, which are blatant violations of the 4th Amendment rights of US citizens, have been occurring throughout the state. Officers can go through call records, emails, text messages, and browsing history simply if they suspect you of any wrongdoing.
Your iPads, tablets, PDAs, and Kindles aren’t exempt from warrantless searches either. California cops can now legally see what websites you were browsing on your iPad, your notes from class, your personal calendar, and what ebooks you’re reading.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation started a campaign promoting California State Senate Bill 914, which would have stopped police officers from just stopping a person walking down the street and looking through their cellphone.Modern smartphones are a candid window into the intimate details of our lives carrying everything from text messages to emails, from webpages we’ve browsed to our real time location, from lists of contacts to photo albums. But under California law, an arresting officer can reach into your pocket, pull out your cell phone, and thumb through everything on it regardless of whether your phone has anything to do with the arrest itself. -EFFThis is just the latest in Governor Brown’s attacks on the civil liberties of Californians. Recently, Brown also vetoed legislation that would legalize the production of hemp citing the absurd notion that federal hemp laws trump state laws. The 10th Amendment begs to differ on that. He also banned the open-carry of firearms, thereby trampling upon the 2nd Amendment rights of citizens of the Golden State.
Anyone in California who cares about their civil rights should start or join a campaign to recall Jerry Brown.
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