Ever talked to a probation officer? They want you to surrender your non sexy phone to them so they can check the logs. Of course the same thing is true of a laptop in a car, so smarter is the man who encrypts.

...even though the legal theory applies to all kinds of devices because you like the way mentioning any Apple product for any reason causes Anti-Apple Jihadists everywhere to coat their computer monitors with saliva.

does that mean if you have a safe in the trunk of the car that is locked with a combination lock they cannot compel you to open it? are they only allowed to search the "containers" they can access?

also, could it be argued that information that's not stored locally on the phone itself--your hypothetical bulletin board messages, which let's assume are not cached--is not in the phone, therefore not in the car, therefore not accessible to the police during such a search?

Don't do something to get arrested, then.

Police do have to have a reasonable cause to arrest you. So here's a tip. If you're breaking a "big" law that would be revealed by searching your vehicle, then you should probably obey the traffic laws. (Also, traffic laws are there for public safety, including your own, maybe consider that next time you're doing something stupid.)

Cops can't just make up a crime, arrest you, and then use their search powers to charge you with a larger crime. If the original arrest was spurious, then the evidence still won't be admissable.

Or, y'know, just don't break the law in the first place.

I don't own an iPhone or any cell phone -- don't like them new-fangled contraptions -- but exactly right! -- protect it with a password! I also don't see how the search can be extended to items not physically in the car or on your person, e.g. logging in into a bulletin board or a chat session, which is not stored right on your iPhone. To put it another way: if you have a piece of paper with a locker number and combination written down on it, can the police go to that locker to search it? Makes no sense.

On a different note, in CA you can now be stopped if you're talking on your iPhone while driving...which would cause your iPhone to be searched. Seems almost recursive.

A traffic stop does not necessarily constitute an arrest.

in Europe they are setting up rules to protect people's privacy.

This country has become a living joke thanks to you fascist libs (and to the fellow rightwing fascists)

NS -- People on parole aren't granted the same 4th Am protections as people who aren't. Parole officers are allowed to conduct searches without a warrant that would otherwise be unconstitutional.

ncarey -- Your point is well taken, but does not answer the question of what rights a person under arrest has/should have. Presumably, you wouldn't agree with the proposition that the police don't need a warrant to enter the home of a person under arrest. Arguably, it is reasonable to seach an impounded car for anything which could be dangerous so as to prevent injury or damage to anyone/anything during the period it is being impounded. The question is should the police have the right to conduct a search incident to arrest of electronic devices found on the person or anywhere within the vehicle of the person being arrested. In my opinion, none of the justifications of the search incident to arrest rule I have encountered seem reasonable or constitutional when it comes to electronic devices. I guess this would be one of those rare instances where I side with Scalia!

...which takes him to a Web page that requires a member's username and password, which the iPhone has fortunately remembered -- so the cop presses "submit,"...

The specific hypothetical is moot -- unlike the desktop OS, the iPhone's Mobile Safari doesn't store site usernames or passwords, because the device is not considered secure. Sure, they could, theoretically, look at your browser history or browse through your bookmarks (since there's no search, name the "naughty" ones creatively).

Besides, who views porn on the iPhone -- aside from the whole things you shouldn't do in public issue, the screen is tiny, and the interface requires both hands to zoom.

Cops can't just make up a crime, arrest you, and then use their search powers to charge you with a larger crime. If the original arrest was spurious, then the evidence still won't be admissable.

Or, y'know, just don't break the law in the first place.

I got stopped and my ass thrown in jail on a spurious charge because my license had been suspended because I had not paid the $100 annual fine for having excess points on my license.

Here was the trick-- they sent the bill and notice to an address I had not lived at for five years (my driver's license had my correct present address).

So, they got my fingerprints into their evil database, they spread the love by making me spend money on getting my car back and getting an attorney to null the charge, they made me have to bug my friend to bail me out of prison. On a charge that in most states is supposedly not a jailable offense.

I take great care to follow the laws. Apparently, being good is no longer enough or adequate in this society. Now you have to be tricked by authorities to become labeled a 'criminal' by hook or crook.

Thanks Texas for joining the New World Order.

I believe that searching the car and its occupants is allowed incidental to a traffic stop...so, don't think it needs to be an arrest situation. Perhaps someone can set us straight on that account.

Damn. Did I just say that?

But really, limiting searches to what is relevant to the arrest makes perfect logical sense. Otherwise the door is wide open to limitless abuse.

And what about encryption? How does current law treat encrypted files on a PDA or laptop searched as described here?

Note to Farhad: Why the emphasis on the iPhone? The iPhone has broken no new ground that I'm aware of. Palm devices have been around for years, and Windows CE PDAs not much less. And travelers have long carried laptops with them on vacation, to business meetings, etc. All are equally capable of carrying loads of sensitive files, passwords, bookmarks, etc.