Cell Phones Can’t Be Searched Without A Warrant

A Supreme Court ruling today is giving cell phone users a bit more privacy.

As any cell phone user knows, you put a lot of personal information on that little device. And now that info is being protected from the police.

In a unanimous ruling by the Supreme Court today, police officers can no longer search the cell phone of a criminal suspect without first obtaining a warrant.

This is a big win for privacy rights, since prior to the ruling cell phones were in the same category as wallets, briefcases and vehicles and subject to limited initial examination by law enforcement.

Obviously we all keep a lot more stuff in our phones than our cars. And now that stuff can't be used against you without the police getting a warrant to see it first. And as CNN.com reports, cases from Massachusetts played a big role in helping this ruling pass after criminal suspects were convicted based on text messages, phone numbers, photos and addresses obtained from phones and other devices searched by police.

So is this a good move for protecting the public's privacy or do you think it will allow more criminals to get off scott-free?