You are a paralegal at a small practice.One of the attorneys has a new case involving a search of a cell-phone. Pat Smith was riding in his friend Bill Johnson's car down I-75 in Cincinnati, Ohio when they were stopped by a state highway patrol. The officer explained that he stopped the vehicle due to non-functioning tail lights and driving 10 mph over the speed limit. In the course of the stop, the officer smelled marijuana and saw a burnt spoon in a center cupholder. The officer asked for permission to search the car, which was granted. The officer found a large plastic bag containing a white powdery residue under the driver seat. The officer arrested both men and booked them into jail. While jailed, another officer went through Smith's cell-phone and found text messages, videos, emails, and pictures that connected Smith with gang activity. The officer did not have a warrant for the search. Smith was subsequently charged in connection with a felonious assault.

The attorney has asked you to prepare case briefs for the following two cases:

Rileyv. California, 573 U.S. 373

State v. Smith, 124 Ohio St.3d 163

You are to research the current state of the law to determine whether the evidence acquired from the phone may be suppressed. Once that is complete, she has asked you to summarize your research in a memo. She has also asked that you write an opinion letter to the client, Pat Smith, for her review.

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

Researching the current state of the law regarding the admissibility of the evidence acquired from the cell phone in the given scenario we will analyze two relevant cases Riley v California and State ... View the full answer