In the 2019 case United States v. Sam the terms under which the police may examine the contents of an individual’s cellphone were given close scrutiny. According to this ruling, just by powering up the phone and looking at the lock screen, the police conducted a warrantless search. The intersection of technology – especially digital technology – personal privacy and the 4th Amendment are in many ways still new and perilous waters. These debates have a pretty long provenance. We might start with Olmstead v. United States (1928) or maybe Katz v. United States (1967) or even Kyllo v. United States (2001) – even though Kyllo is a little different. In fact, let’s do just that. For this assignment, I want you to trace the judicial evolution of communications privacy protections from Olmstead to Sam. Once you’ve got a good grounding there answer this question: Should the police be able to compel you (with a valid search warrant) to unlock your communications device? Should you have to provide account passwords or otherwise provide them unfettered access to your devices and accounts? Content – 80 points A discussion of each of the above Supreme Court Cases are worth 5 points for a total of 20 points. Your discussion should include an overview of the majority opinion and dissenting opinions for Olmstead v. United States (1928); Katz v. United States (1967); Kyllo v. United States (2001), and United States vs. Sam (2019). Discuss how each successive ruling built upon, refined or rebuked elements of its predecessors. Based on your interpretation of these cases, should the police be able to compel you (with a valid search warrant) to unlock your communications device? Should you have to provide account passwords or otherwise provide them unfettered access to your devices and accounts? This section is worth 40 points. Your discussion should incorporate at least 5 outside peer review sources. Each outside source used is worth 4 points for a total of 20 points. These articles must be integrated into discussion, simply including a citation in text without explicit discussion regarding how it fits will not provide you credit for the sources. Organization, Structure, and Grammar – 20 points The readability of the paper, which includes how well sentences and paragraphs flow into each other (i.e., how easy the paper is to read and follow) is worth 5 points. The appropriate use of APA formatting (Times New Roman, 12-point font, double spaced, 1-inch margins) is worth 5 points. The use of indented paragraphs throughout is worth 2 points. There are 8 points allocated for grammar. Some examples of grammatical mistakes include the incorrect use of possessives, word selection (e.g., your versus you’re), and tense, as well as evidence of glaring misspellings. Responses should be at least 3 typed, double spaced pages, but not more than 5 pages (not including references).
