The Constitution of the United States provides citizens with some basic protections. Some of these protections include regulating police conduct and giving Oregon residents a right to privacy. This right to privacy prevents police from searching a person or their property without following certain procedural guidelines. In many cases, this means that police must obtain a warrant before they can search for criminal activity.
A warrant is generally obtained by petitioning a judge. In order for the warrant to be issued, police must have some probable cause that criminal activity is taking place. Furthermore, they must limit their search in scope. The warrant will define where the police can search and what they are looking for.
However, society has come a long way since the founding fathers wrote the Constitution. Sometimes police departments adapting these rules to modern life -- particularly when it comes to electronic records. Under Oregon law, there is nothing that requires police to obtain a warrant before searching a person's cellphone, text messages, Facebook account or other social media. One state Senator -- Senator Larry George -- would like to change that.
Senator George is working on a bill that would require police to obtain a warrant before searching these electronic records. If the bill passes, Oregon would join several other states that have taken similar measures to protect its citizen.
Police conduct -- particularly if police properly obtained a warrant -- is one important aspect of many criminal defense strategies. People who have been charged with a crime should ensure that a warrant was properly executed prior to their arrest. If a warrant was not obtained or was used incorrectly, charges may be reduced or dropped -- depending on the specifics in each case.
Source: Statesman Journal, "Bill seeks to protect privacy online," Jan. 15, 2014
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