The ACLU of Northern California today filed suit against San Francisco and its Police Chief Gregory Suhr on behalf of civil rights activist Bob Offer-Westort, "whose cell phone was searched by the San Francisco Police Department without a warrant after he was arrested while engaging in peaceful civil disobedience."
The suit charges that warrantless cell phone searches at the time of arrest violate the constitutional rights not only of arrestees but also of their family, friends, co-workers, and anyone whose information is in their phones. This practice violates the right to privacy, and the right to speak freely without police listening in to what we say and who we talk to.
Here's the lawsuit document (PDF). It's interesting reading.
Offer-Westort advocates for the rights of homeless people. There's a video about his work here.
