Calling for a standard: why courts should apply a new balancing test in cell phone searches incident to arrest

Liming argues that the Supreme Court should adopt a balancing test because cell phone technology develops too swiftly to be governed by a bright-line rule. Only a balancing test properly accommodates both the relevant privacy concerns and the needs of law enforcement. He provides background on the search incident to arrest exception to the Fourth Amendment and analyzes the history of cell phone searches and many of the rationales courts have used in permitting or prohibiting warrantless searches of cell phones incident to arrest. He then suggests how the Supreme Court should resolve the issue of warrantless cell phone searches and explains why a balancing test would be the best option for a rapidly developing technology like cell phones.