Government officers can search the cell phones of people entering the United States without a warrant or probable cause, a federal appeals court ruled on an appeal by Chinwendu Alisigwe.
“A jury found Chinwendu Alisigwe guilty of fraud offenses based on his use of fraudulent identification documents to open bank accounts using the names and Social Security numbers of real people,” Judge Steven J. Menashi of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit said in the opinion on Sept. 17.
“Alisigwe argues that the district court erred by denying his motion to suppress evidence obtained from two searches of his cellphone at John F. Kennedy International Airport. He argues that the searches violated the Fourth Amendment because the government did not obtain a warrant. We disagree.” …