Opinion of ALITO, J.
SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES
Nos. 13-132 and 13-212
DAVID LEON RILEY, PETITIONER
| 13-132 | v. |
CALIFORNIA
ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE COURT OF APPEAL OF CALIFORNIA, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT, DIVISION ONE
UNITED STATES, PETITIONER
| 13-212 | v. |
BRIMA WURIE
ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT
[June 25, 2014]
JUSTICE ALITO concurring in part and concurring in the judgment.
I agree with the Court that law enforcement officers, in conducting a lawful search incident to arrest, must generally obtain a warrant before searching information stored or accessible on a cell phone. I write separately to address two points.
I
A
First, I am not convinced at this time that the ancient rule on searches incident to arrest is based exclusively (or even primarily) on the need to protect the safety of arresting officers and the need to prevent the destruction of evidence. Cf. ante, at 9. This rule antedates the adoption of the Fourth Amendment by at least a century. See T. Clancy, The Fourth Amendment: Its History and Interpretation 340 (2008); T. Taylor, Two Studies in Constitutional
