Can Police Search Your Phone During an Arrest in Michigan?
Can Police Search Your Phone During or After an Arrest in Michigan?
No. In most cases, police need a warrant before searching the digital contents of a phone in Michigan, even if they took the phone during an arrest.
Police may be allowed to seize a phone during an arrest, but that does not automatically give them permission to search the digital information on the device. A search may still be allowed if police have a valid warrant, consent or a recognized exception to the warrant requirement.
Phone searches can involve both criminal cases and civil claims. Keep track of who had the phone, what officers said about access, whether a warrant existed, what the warrant allowed and whether phone data was later used against you.
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Riley v. California established that police generally may not search digital information on a seized cell phone without a warrant.
In Michigan, there are even more search-and-seizure protections for electronic data and communications. Those state-specific rules can be found in Michigan Constitution Article I, Section 11 and MCL 780.651, which authorizes warrants to access electronic data or electronic communications only when the legal requirements for a warrant are met.
Why Phone Searches Are Different From Pockets, Wallets or Cars
A modern phone can hold years of texts, photos, videos, emails, app data, browser history, location information, medical communications, banking records and private account access. That is why courts treat digital phone content differently from many physical items police may seize or find during an arrest.
During an arrest, police may have the authority to secure the person, remove immediate threats and collect physical items. They may also be allowed to take possession of a phone to prevent it from being lost, destroyed or used as a weapon. But taking it does not give officers permission to scroll through the phone, read messages, search photos, open apps or review stored location information.
For other car and home search issues, read our article on warrantless car and home searches in Michigan.
When Police Need a Warrant to Search Phone Contents
Police usually need a search warrant before searching the contents of the phone. A valid warrant does not usually allow full and unfettered access to the phone, but should describe specific types of data such as:
- text messages and direct messages
- photos and videos
- app data
- call logs
- browser history
- cloud-connected files
- stored location information
- account or authentication data visible through the device
There are possible exceptions that may allow a search without a warrant. Police may argue that consent, immediate safety concerns or urgent risk of evidence destruction justified a warrantless search. Those exceptions are fact-specific and do not apply in every case.
What If Police Ask for Consent to Look Through Your Phone?
Whether police had consent, and whether that consent was valid, is often the main issue in disputes like this. The circumstances of the arrest and seizure can affect whether consent was valid.
Under Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, that validity can depend on:
- the exact words the officer used
- whether the person was handcuffed, detained or in custody
- whether officers asked to "see" the phone or to search through it
- whether the person unlocked the phone, gave a passcode or handed it over
- whether officers stayed within the stated scope of consent
- whether the phone was searched after consent was limited or withdrawn
- whether body camera, dash camera or witness evidence records the exchange
Consent to show one screen is not the same as consent to review messages, photos, apps and account data.
Can Police Search Your Phone During a Michigan Traffic Stop?
A Michigan traffic stop does not automatically give police permission to search the phone contents. A stop for speeding or another traffic issue may require the driver to provide certain information, but briefly showing an officer what is on the phone screen does not give officers permission to scroll through the device.
This issue often comes up when a driver uses a phone to show proof of registration or insurance. That is a narrow interaction that does not equal consent to a broader device search. MCL 257.223 discusses registration and MCL 257.328 discusses insurance.
For stop and identification issues outside the phone search question, read Do You Have To Show ID to Police in Michigan?.
Can Police Take or Hold a Phone While Seeking a Warrant?
Taking a phone and searching a phone are separate issues. Police may argue they had a lawful reason to secure a device while they applied for a warrant or tried to prevent immediate evidence loss. That does not mean every later search of the device was lawful.
Whether police could lawfully take a phone and keep it until a search warrant is approved can depend on:
- why officers took the phone
- whether the phone was taken from the person, car, home or another location
- whether a property receipt or inventory record was created
- how long police kept the device before seeking a warrant
- whether the device was searched before the warrant was signed
- what data was accessed
- whether the warrant, return or extraction report matches what happened
If police keep the phone, preserve every document connected to the seizure, including property receipts, warrant papers, court notices, account alerts and messages from officers.
What If the Search Warrant Is Too Broad?
A phone warrant should specifically describe what officers are allowed to search and explain how those categories of data are connected to the investigation.
The Michigan Supreme Court held in People v. Carson that a phone warrant must do more than name the phone and the suspected crime. It must include meaningful limits, such as relevant data categories, time periods when available and a connection between the data sought and the investigation.
A warrant may be overbroad if it allows officers to search nearly every app, file, message or account without a clear connection to the suspected offense. The language on the warrant, the supporting affidavit, the investigation and the search method can all make a difference.
Location data can raise a separate Fourth Amendment issue. The United States Supreme Court case Carpenter v. United States addressed police access to historical cell-site location records from a wireless carrier. If police searched the phone itself, however, the analysis still needs to focus on the seizure, consent, warrant language and actual phone search.
What Evidence Should You Preserve If Police Searched or Took Your Phone?
The most useful records are often the ones that show the timeline before the phone contents became the focus. Preserve records such as:
- the phone itself, charger and any property tag
- property receipts, inventory sheets, warrant papers, search-warrant returns and extraction reports
- screenshots of account alerts, device login notices, cloud-access notices and password-reset messages
- body camera, dash camera, jail video, booking records and dispatch information, if available
- citation, complaint, arrest report, police report and court paperwork
- names and contact information for witnesses
- the timeline of when the phone was taken, unlocked, searched, returned or used in court
- messages from officers, detectives, prosecutors or court personnel about the device
- backup records that show what data existed before police accessed the phone
Do not delete, wipe, alter or factory-reset the phone, because data handling can become part of the dispute. It is safer to preserve the device and records, then have the search timeline reviewed.
Talk to Michigan Legal Center About an Illegal Phone Search
An unlawful phone search may connect to a broader civil rights issue, especially when the search happened with an arrest, detention, traffic stop, use of force, retaliation or pressure to unlock the device. A viable claim depends on the facts, evidence, defendants, defenses and damages.
Contact Michigan Legal Center, the Law Offices of Christopher J. Trainor & Associates, if police searched, took, unlocked or used your phone during a Michigan arrest, traffic stop or detention.