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Can Police Search Your Cellphone Without a Warrant?

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled police don't need a search warrant to look at a cellphone's call list after arresting the phone's owner. As courts around the country grapple with the issue, tell us: is this reasonable search and seizure?

What's the difference between personal information and correspondence you have physically stored in your home, and similar information that's on your cellphone? And what should police have access to without a warrant? It's a question that courts across the nation are dealing with it and one that arose here in Massachusetts on Wednesday, when the Supreme Judicial Court ruled that police don't need a search warrant to look at the call list of a person's cellphone during while searching that person's personal property after an arrest. However, in writing the court's opinion for Commonwealth vs. Demetrius A. Phifer, Justice Margot Botsford cited other court cases that raise questions about the extent that law enforcement officials can access …

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paul surette

2:28 pm on Thursday, December 13, 2012

Bob, do they also know who's wife I covet?   more ›

Contest: Your Photo Could Be Malden Patch’s Facebook Cover!

Upload a picture taken by you that best represents Malden.

The submission period is now over.  Our readers are our site’s biggest assets and when we were thinking about what photo to use for the top of our Malden Patch Facebook page, we figured we’d leave it up to you. We are inviting you to share your favorite photo of your hometown.  So readers, now is your chance to get your best town photo out there for all to see! Upload a picture taken by you that you think best represents the city of Malden. The winning photo will be the featured photo at the top of the Malden Patch’s Facebook page. You have until noon on Monday, Nov. 19 to upload a photo you think best represents Malden. Here’s how to enter: Our readers will help us pick the winner! You, the reader can vote for the winner in the comments …

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Politics on Facebook: Good, Bad, or Ugly?

As the Nov. 6 election nears, political discussion is getting heated. How much do you share of your political opinions with your Facebook friends?

Maybe you're a die-hard Democrat, and you think Barack Obama wiped the floor with Mitt Romney Monday night.  Or maybe you're a staunch Republican, and you believe Romney was on top of his game. We all have political opinions. But do you share them with your Facebook friends? Maybe you shouldn't, suggests a recent article on Boston.com. People of all political leanings told the Globe they're learning too much about their friends' and relatives' attitudes. The article is informed by data from the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project. The study found that 18 percent of Facebook users have blocked, unfriended, or hidden a friend because of political differences or a distaste for the sheer volume of the friends’ political …

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