Border agents can't search your phone without good reason, US court rules

[turbinetree]

Source: The Guardian

US border authorities cannot search the cellphones of travelers without having some reason to believe a particular traveler has committed a crime, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday.

The 4th US circuit court of appeals in Richmond ruled in the case of a Turkish national who was arrested at Dulles International Airport after agents found firearm parts in his luggage.

A lower court judge refused to suppress evidence obtained from a warrantless search of Hamza Kolsuz’s phone.

The 4th circuit upheld that ruling and found that a forensic search of electronic devices requires “individualized suspicion” of wrongdoing. The court said agents had that suspicion because Kolsuz had made two previous attempts to smuggle weapons parts out of the US.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/may/09/us-border-cell-phone-searches-cant-without-reason-crime-court-ruling

[BigmanPigman]

1. That is good info...spread it around!

[BobTheSubgenius]

2. I bet strenuously invoking those rights takes a large amount of grit.

My experience with NSA and border agents is that they are quite humourless and can be VERY insistent, right or wrong.

[grantcart]

3. Works for me. Regular citizen, can't search. known gun runner can.

The 4th US circuit court of appeals in Richmond ruled in the case of a Turkish national who was arrested at Dulles International Airport after agents found firearm parts in his luggage

A lower court judge refused to suppress evidence obtained from a warrantless search of Hamza Kolsuz’s phone.

The 4th circuit upheld that ruling and found that a forensic search of electronic devices requires “individualized suspicion” of wrongdoing. The court said agents had that suspicion because Kolsuz had made two previous attempts to smuggle weapons parts out of the US

Here is what they found that led to the search on phones

On February 2, 2016, Kolsuz began his return trip to Istanbul by checking in at Miami International Airport for a flight that took him to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. He then checked in for a flight that was to take him and his checked luggage from Cleveland through Washington Dulles International Airport before embarking for Istanbul. In Cleveland, Kolsuz checked luggage containing four 9mm Glock 31-round magazines; four 9mm Glock 17-round magazines; four 9mm Glock 15-round magazines; eight 9mm Glock 10-round magazines; one 9mm Smith & Wesson 32-round magazine; four 9mm Sig Sauer handgun barrels; and five 9mm threaded Glock 19 barrels, in addition to various other weapons parts.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/turkish-national-convicted-arms-export-control-act-offenses

Going to Istanbul from Miami via Cleveland (adds luggage) then turning around and going to Dulles to board a flight to Istanbul. Nothing suspicious about that lol.

Not only that but he had been caught red handed in 2012 and 2013 and received warnings and the guns and gun parts seized.

Interesting note: The original judge: TS Ellis IIi - the same judge who ruled on Manafort motion last week.