April 18, 2005
N.C. judge to rule on photos from camera phones
A Superior Court judge must decide whether law enforcement officers overstepped when they downloaded images from the cell phone of a man accused of sexual offense and secret peeping, reports the AP.
"Superior Court Judge W. Allen Cobb Jr. could rule this week on the motion to suppress evidence, Assistant District Attorney Todd Fennell said.
"In this case, the pictures are one piece of evidence," Fennell said. "The pictures showed what we contend is a sexual assault."
Police received some images from Snow's carrier, Sprint, after obtaining a search warrant, Fennell said. The camera phone is still held as evidence.
Fennell said investigators researched the issue but didn't find any legal precedent. "There's no case law pertaining to getting information off a cell phone," he said.
The question of illegal search and seizure as it pertains to camera phones is one the judge will have to decide, Weber said. "I think it's just a case where the law has to catch up with the technology," he said.
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