During a routine traffic stop in New Hampshire, police generally cannot search your phone without a warrant. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that cell phones are fundamentally different from other personal items due to the vast amount of private information they contain, so a warrant is typically required to access their contents—even if the phone is seized incident to an arrest.
There are, however, certain exceptions to the warrant requirement in New Hampshire, as in other states:
- Consent: If you voluntarily consent to a search of your phone, police do not need a warrant. However, you are not required to consent, and you have the right to politely decline any request to search your phone or other property.
- Exigent Circumstances: Police may search your phone without a warrant if there is an immediate threat to safety, risk of evidence destruction, or a suspect’s escape. This exception is narrowly interpreted and rarely applies to cell phones during routine traffic stops.
- Plain View Doctrine: If evidence of a crime is in plain view (for example, a phone displaying illegal activity), police may seize the phone, but they generally still need a warrant to access its contents unless another exception applies.
- Search Incident to Arrest: After a lawful arrest, police may search the person and the immediate area for weapons or evidence. However, under current Supreme Court precedent, this does not automatically authorize a full search of the contents of a cell phone; a warrant is usually still required to access data on the phone.
It is important to note that police cannot compel you to unlock your phone using biometrics (such as fingerprint or facial recognition) without a warrant specifically authorizing this action.
If police want to access your phone’s contents, they must obtain a warrant based on probable cause, except in the cases noted above.
Sources:
- https://www.anzalonelegal.com/illegal-search-and-seizure.html
- https://www.nhdefender.com/nh-dwi-resource-center/illegal-traffic-stops/
- https://scholarship.law.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1137&context=scholar
