Law enforcement officers arrested defendant when he appeared for what he understood to be a sexual encounter with a fourteen-year-old girl with whom he believed he had exchanged text messages on the two preceding days. In fact, defendant exchanged the messages with a detective using two different cellular phone applications. After seizing defendant's phone, the officers obtained a search warrant for the phone and an order requiring defendant provide the phone's passcode.
The court reverses an order denying defendant's motion to quash the search warrant, which authorized a search of all the phone's data. The court holds the affidavit supporting issuance of the warrant did not establish probable cause to search all the phone's data. The court also determines probable cause to search all the data on a phone is not established by merely demonstrating the phone's data may include evidence of criminal activity. The court further concludes a search of data on a cell phone must be limited to only the particular data for which law enforcement establishes probable cause to believe includes evidence of criminal activity, and a search warrant affidavit must define the locations of such data on the phone to the extent possible based on available technology.