A proposal in Vermont’s legislature would make the state the first in the nation to allow police officers to take cellphones away from drivers during traffic stops.
“Essentially, it’s ‘show me your text log,'” the legislation’s author, Democratic state Rep. Martin LaLonde, told the Burlington Free Press. “Personally, if I’m in a car and I’ve been text messaging, I should expect narrow privacy.”
However, he added that critics who assert the bill is unconstitutional may be right, and said it is hard to “thread the needle” between privacy rights and tools used by law enforcement.
The proposal, HB527, would grant implied consent to police officers to seize “portable electronic devices” from drivers they pull over for various reasons. That could include other devices as well, including tablets and laptop computers. LaLonde acknowledged those were not his primary focus, but suggested it may not be a bad idea to include them.
LaLonde said his legislation had garnered some support, pointing to David Cahill, a former executive director for the Vermont Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs. Cahill likened cellphones to open containers of alcohol, saying, “Distracted driving is relatively new to all of us and we’re still learning about it … We may be headed toward treating a smartphone like an open bottle of alcohol.”
Vermont law currently prohibits texting while driving, but it can be difficult for police officers to prove what a driver was doing on their phone. In addition to allowing officers to seize devices, the legislation would also ban using voice-activated functions, GPS systems that were not installed by a manufacturer and ignition interlock devices that allow drivers to measure their blood alcohol level.
“It’s hard to believe this won’t be found unconstitutional,” said Allen Gilbert, the executive director of Vermont’s American Civil Liberties Union. “The bill also is vague when it comes to the justification for the stop. A person could be sneezing.”
