The Court agrees with the trial court that the officers’ search of appellant’s cell phone and tablet unlawfully exceeded the scope of the search warrant when they searched for “items without timestamps” rather than limiting the search for data within the dates allowed on the warrant. The Court disagrees that the good faith exception to the exclusionary rule applied as the officers continued investigating based on evidence in the report even after they realized the evidence was not limited to the date and time parameters set out in the search warrant.
The Court agrees with the trial court that the officers’ search of appellant’s cell phone and tablet unlawfully exceeded the scope of the search warrant when they searched for “items without timestamps” rather than limiting the search for data within the dates allowed on the warrant. The Court disagrees that the good faith exception to the exclusionary rule applied as the officers continued investigating based on evidence in the report even after they realized the evidence was not limited to the date and time parameters set out in the search warrant.
Full opinion: https://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/H051516.PDF