Can you share extracted phone data with another agency? Read about this new ruling and potential civil liability

By Robert Phillips  

Deputy District Attorney (ret.) 

Case Law

Consensual searches
Civil liability and qualified immunity 
Right to privacy and civil liability 
The Third-Party Doctrine 
Cellphones and one’s right to privacy of its contents 
Monell liability of a government official 

Rule: As a general rule, a person giving one law enforcement agency express consent to search her cellphone does not authorize a different agency from doing the same, absent evidence of the person’s intent. The Third-Party Doctrine does not apply to instances where the “third party” to whom the information is initially revealed is a law enforcement agency. A government supervisor is not subject to Monell liability absent evidence of personal supervision or a sufficient causal connection between the supervisor’s wrongful conduct and the resulting constitutional violation. 

Facts: Haley Olson, a resident of Grant County, Oregon, ran a marijuana dispensary in her state where it is legal to do so. Olson’s boyfriend was Tyler Smith, a Grant County deputy sheriff. In Jan. 2019, Olson visited Idaho, where she got popped by the Idaho State Police for the illegal possession of marijuana. Olson told the officers that her boyfriend was a sheriff’s deputy in Oregon. Indeed, the officers found Smith’s business card in her car. Olson signed a consent form giving the Idaho officers consent to search her cellphone. Pursuant to this consent, the officers created an “extraction” (a copy) of the contents of her phone, downloading the information onto their own computers. Nothing in the consent form, however, referenced the possible later transfer of the information to another jurisdiction. In fact, the form specifically limited the use of the information found in her phone to being used against Olson in Idaho. The Idaho charges against Olson, however, were eventually dropped, never having reached an Idaho court. In the meantime, Grant County, Oregon, Sheriff Glenn Palmer heard about Olson’s Idaho arrest. He also was told that Olson had a relationship with his deputy. Allegedly concerned that Deputy Smith might have some connection with criminal activity, he asked the Idaho State ....