Legal Question in Criminal Law in Wisconsin

Yes, officers can legally seize and retain any property which they believe to be evidence of a crime or purchased with proceeds of drug dealing or other criminal activity. This is not limited to phones; it can include cash, cars, homes, real estate and all other assets including investment accounts. However, if they do not eventually either charge you with a crime or civil forfeiture proceeding or give the property back to you, you may have the right sue the government for which they work for return of the property. All suits against the government, however, are extremely complex and expensive as a result of these problems. These lawsuits also have very short statutes of limitations for commencement; often only 120 days in WI. You may therefore need to make a decision whether or not to sue for return of the property based upon a cost benefit analysis; it is certainly likely to be cheaper to just purchase a new phone. Searches of numbers called on a phone are considered to be public information which can be searched without a warrant at any time by officers, even without access to the phone itself (based instead upon phone company computer records). Phones can also legally be used to track a person�s location, which appears at this time to also be public information for which no search warrant is required for sworn law enforcement officers who are acting in their official capacity. The content of actual calls and other electronic communications, however, is considered by law to be private, often requiring officers to obtain wiretap search warrants. You therefore need to consult immediately with an experienced criminal lawyer of your phone has been seized. Since it may indicate that you are being investigated for a serious crime; getting your phone back might be the least of your worries. My comments here are not legal advice, nor do they create an attorney client relationship between us. However, you always welcome to contact my office to discuss retaining me.