No-warrant cellphone searches before Supreme Court

The U.S. Supreme Court is considering whether police may search cellphones found on people they arrest without first getting a warrant.

The court’s latest foray into the issue of privacy in the digital age involves two cases being argued Tuesday that arose from searches of phones carried by a gang member and a drug dealer. Police looked through their cellphones after taking the suspects into custody and found evidence that led to their convictions and lengthy prison terms.

The issue is of more than passing concern for many people. The Pew Research Center says more than 90 percent of Americans own at least one cellphone, and the majority of those are smartphones.

FBI statistics show that more than 12 million people were arrested in the U.S. in 2012.