Fourth Amendment Abandonment Exception Extended to Cellphones

An Oregon man who dropped his cellphone after being shot five times didn’t waive his right to mount a Fourth Amendment challenge over its search and seizure, the Ninth Circuit said.

The US District Court for the District of Oregon denied Dontae Hunt’s motion to suppress evidence seized from his cellphone after concluding, incorrectly, that he had intentionally abandoned the device and forfeited his privacy interest.

“Considering the circumstances, Hunt likely only intended to get medical attention and flee from the shooter as soon as possible without thinking or even knowing what happened to the phone,” the US Court of ...