State v. Tyner

Amicus brief arguing against an unconstitutional and overbroad search warrant resulting in an indiscriminate search of defendant’s cell phone.

Following a fatal car accident, police officers secured a warrant to search defendant’s cell phone found at the scene of the accident for “any and all data/information” without any limitations. The warrant was granted based on an affidavit that failed to establish any connection between the accident and the all-encompassing search of defendant's cellular data.

On a motion to suppress the evidence, the court ruled that the warrant was unconstitutionally overbroad under State v. Missak but attempted to save it by retroactively severing it to a six-day temporal limit, without restricting the scope of data searched. The ACLU-NJ, as amicus curiae, argued that the search violated the Fourth Amendment and Article I, paragraph 7, because the warrant lacked both probable cause and particularity, that the lower court's partial suppression was improper, and that the evidence should be suppressed in its entirety.