Opinion ID: 63259
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: License Check

Text: During a traffic stop, a police officer may examine a driver's license and vehicle registration, run a computer check on the driver and the vehicle, and question the driver about a wide range of matters, including those unrelated to the purpose of a routine traffic stop. Brigham, 382 F.3d at 507-08. The Government argues that the search of Zavala's cell phone was equivalent to running a license check during a traffic stop. Finley indicates that a search of a cell phone after an investigative vehicle stop is appropriate if the police officer has either a warrant or probable cause to arrest. 477 F.3d at 259-60. In holding that a police officer may search a cell phone in the case of a lawful custodial arrest, Finley cited to cases holding that [t]he permissible scope of a search incident to a lawful arrest extends to containers found on the arrestee's person. Id. at 260. In the case of a traffic stop, a police officer must ensure that the driver does not have a warrant or a suspended license, and that the vehicle is registered and not reported stolen. These checks are routine and quickly performed. Additionally, state law requires a driver to carry a driver's license and proof of insurance. See Atwater v. City of Lago Vista, 532 U.S. 318, 324, 121 S.Ct. 1536, 149 L.Ed.2d 549 (2001) (citing TEX. TRANSP. CODE §§ 521.025, 601.053). Because state law requires a driver operating a motor vehicle to surrender his driver's license and proof of insurance when asked by a police officer, that person does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy regarding those items after being pulled over for a traffic violation. See TEX. TRANSP. CODE §§ 521.025(b), 601.053(a), (b); see also Finley, 477 F.3d at 258 (stating the test for when a defendant has a reasonable expectation of privacy sufficient to contest the constitutional validity of a search). Unlike a driver's license and vehicle registration, which are typically issued by a governmental entity, cell phones contain a wealth of private information, including emails, text messages, call histories, address books, and subscriber numbers. Zavala had a reasonable expectation of privacy regarding this information. See Finley, 477 F.3d at 258-59. A cell phone is similar to a personal computer that is carried on one's person; Finley indicates that mere possession of a cell phone gives rise to a reasonable expectation of privacy regarding its contents. See id. A police officer's license check during a traffic stop is within the scope of investigation attendant to the traffic stop and is not triggered by any particularized suspicion that the check will produce evidence of a crime. Brigham, 382 F.3d at 508. In this case, Moreman's search of Zavala's cell phone was general rummaging in order to discover incriminating evidence. See Florida v. Wells, 495 U.S. 1, 4, 110 S.Ct. 1632, 109 L.Ed.2d 1 (1990). The Government's analogy between searching a cell phone during an investigative stop and running a license check during a traffic stop is simply not apropos. [5] Zavala's vehicle was stopped because of a reasonable suspicion of drug trafficking activity. Just as the agents could not search Zavala's vehicle for contraband based on this suspicion without consent or probable cause, they could not search Zavala's cell phone for other incriminating evidence without consent or probable cause. See Finley, 477 F.3d at 259-60 (if the police officer has probable cause to arrest, then he may look for evidence of the arrestee's crime on his person in order to preserve it for use at trial) (citing United States v. Robinson, 414 U.S. 218, 233-34, 94 S.Ct. 467, 38 L.Ed.2d 427 (1973)).