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Michigan State Police Search Cell Phones During Traffic Stops

VW_Factor

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Nov 1, 2010
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Leesburg, GA
Interesting. Since I have to travel back into the PRO Maryland regularly, which has just enacted "No texting while driving," I suppose that they could use that observed infraction as RAS to examine the cell phone to confirm that one was or was not actually texting while driving, based on the timestamps of the texts.

Or they could give you the ticket for it, take it to court, and subpoena your mobile provider for the information.. There is ZERO reason a LEO needs your phone. NONE. He does not need to prove the crime in your phone before ticketing you for it.
 

jeremy05

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I persoanlly know someone who tried this and after he was handcuffed, the LEO took the keys out of his pocket and opened the car. Admittitedly, I do not know the whole story but I am thinking the LEO (thought) he had probable cause (or at least used that as an excuse)...

Outdoorsman1

Well once he was arrested the LEO can search the car, its something like a search incident to an arrest. Even if he doesn't search the car after the arrest. they are going to do a Inventory search of the car back at the station. So once your arrested you are pretty much screwed if your hiding stuff in your car.

Now its been 6 years since i graduated from a police academy in Michigan so don't quote me on that. lol
 

VW_Factor

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Well once he was arrested the LEO can search the car, its something like a search incident to an arrest. Even if he doesn't search the car after the arrest. they are going to do a Inventory search of the car back at the station. So once your arrested you are pretty much screwed if your hiding stuff in your car.

Now its been 6 years since i graduated from a police academy in Michigan so don't quote me on that. lol

What gives him the right to do so? Even after arresting someone without RAS?
 

Bronson

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Battle Creek, Michigan, USA

Bronson

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Battle Creek, Michigan, USA
the LEO took the keys out of his pocket and opened the car.

Another trick I know about is they officer will conduct an officer safety pat down to look for possible weapons, which they are allowed to do. When they feel the keys in your pocket they tell you to take "whatever that is" out and give it to them. If you place the keys in his hand he'll claim implied consent to access the vehicle.

Bronson
 

Bronson

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And "in the field" could mean on the mobile crime labs that go to the crime scene... who knows.

Aaah, good point.

From the comments in the above linked article....

Ok folks ex-msp here. Pls remember this is the ACLU. Lets get the facts straight. The dept has 5, FIVE!!! of these units. They ARE NOT in patrol cars. They are at teh COMPUTER FORENSIC LABS. They are ONLY used with a search warrant or with permission. No trooper in his right mind would search a cell phone without a search warrant or one of the exceptions. You are talking law suit.

The bolded part is why we need to keep educating people on their rights. Too many of the people I talk to think you must comply with anything an officer says.

Bronson
 

HKcarrier

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michigan
I bet they have some wicked awesome sexy nudie pics of your wife that they stole from your phone!!!! :shocker:
 

DKSuddeth

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Bedford, Texas, USA
Well once he was arrested the LEO can search the car, its something like a search incident to an arrest. Even if he doesn't search the car after the arrest. they are going to do a Inventory search of the car back at the station. So once your arrested you are pretty much screwed if your hiding stuff in your car.

Now its been 6 years since i graduated from a police academy in Michigan so don't quote me on that. lol

arizona v. gant did away with that. the only exception to a search incident to arrest now is if the person arrested could reach in an accessible area for a weapon OR that the evidence of the crime arrested for can be found in the car.
 

Michigander

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Mulligan's Valley
There is no solid way for them to search your phone or anything else if you don't let them. The most important rule of being pulled over is leave the window down from the top by no more than an inch and keep the doors locked. If you have to get out of the car (rarely, without consent to search), wait for the cop to be at least 10 feet away before getting out so that he can't force the door to stay open. If you have a door side key pad, lock the keys in the car, otherwise put them in your pocket. If someone else is in the area that has keys, it would also be good just to intentionally lock them in there. As soon as the door is open, re lock the lock, then get out briskly and close the door.

At this point the only things you should be saying are that you don't consent to any searches, and your phone still in the car should be recording or calling porcupine 411. Your spy cam(s) should also have been rolling the entire time. If they want to search the car, make sure they know it will be without your permission, and make them slim jim a lock or ASP a window, then attempt to tell a Judge why they did it, rather than try to claim you didn't object.

If this sounds a bit over board, perhaps it's because I like so many others here have had cops fabricate evidence and lie under oath about my actions, nevermind the felony stops with no RAS. An ounce of prevention is worth thousands in lawyer fees.
 
Last edited:

jbone

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Jun 4, 2008
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WA
More BS from the ACLU

It just does not make any sense, of the three classifications of crime, and an infraction being the lowest searching the phone after getting pulled over for a fix-it tickets, or speeding 5 miles over. I don’t buy the story! This article has ACLU in almost every paragraph, I bit there’s plenty of topic distortion, over-inflation and ACLU agenda propaganda, I suspect all in the name of serving their favored client’s. Who’s the media mogul for Newspaper.com?

“The national ACLU is currently suing the Department of Homeland Security for its policy of warrantless electronic searches of laptops and cell phones belonging to people entering the country who are not suspected of committing any crime.” Sorry, but I kind of like the idea when it comes to none citizens entering this country, but then I suspect the ACLU has misrepresented what is really taken place.
 

MKEgal

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Jan 8, 2010
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in front of my computer, WI
Citizen said:
Have friends send you text messages quoting the 4th Amendment, or bacon jokes, or a photo of a court case where a cop was successfully sued, or...
Really throw a scare into 'em: the "secret" plans to establish a citizen's review board, complete with comments suggesting the mayor and city council already approve.
You're devious (in a good way). I like that. :lol:

Eurotour said:
...if I'm asked to step out of the vehicle, I will close and lock the doors behind me, and stick the keys in my pocket.
As someone else pointed out, that won't stop them; it'll only make their crime more apparent to the judge hearing the civil rights case.
In my interaction w/ cops from a certain city, they claimed they were arresting me for something that isn't a crime (therefore cannot be arrested for - it's only a ticket), something their Chief had told them in writing more than a year before they can't arrest for, and used that as an excuse to take the keys from my pocket & search the car & get into the closed case.
Yeah, you betcha I clearly & loudly denied them any permission to search!
(I've since added a lock to the case, but that didn't stop the most recent illegal search.) :mad:

JamesCanby said:
Surely they can't cite "officer safety" because the cell phone poses no threat.
There are cell phones that are really tazers or .22 pistols.
I don't know if they also function as phones.

I really liked this quote from one article:
“Law enforcement officers are known, on occasion, to encourage citizens to cooperate if they have nothing to hide,” ACLU staff attorney Mark P. Fancher wrote. “No less should be expected of law enforcement, and the Michigan State Police should be willing to assuage concerns that these powerful extraction devices are being used illegally by honoring our requests for cooperation and disclosure.”
:lol: As for the $544K fee MSP wants for the FOIA documents? Even if they charge the completely outrageous fee of $1 a page that's a heck of a lot of paper.
 

jeremy05

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May 18, 2009
Messages
426
Location
Arizona, ,
arizona v. gant did away with that. the only exception to a search incident to arrest now is if the person arrested could reach in an accessible area for a weapon OR that the evidence of the crime arrested for can be found in the car.

That makes sense, but they are still going to inventory the contents of the car when it gets back to the station. Besides, that's where I would rather search a car anyways! lol
 
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