The Search and Seizure of Electronic Pagers: A Federal Case Law Review

Today, advances in technology outstrip the ability of the law to address technology related issues. Such is the case in the area of electronic pagers or "beepers." The use of pagers by drug dealers has been a standard for many years yet there are relatively few cases dealing with the issue of the search and seizure of pagers. This article reviews the federal cases, and a few state court cases, which have decided issues relating to the search and seizure of electronic pagers. Issues addressed in this article include the application of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, the reasonable expectation of privacy in a pager, the warrantless search of a pager based on the exigent circumstance of destruction of evidence, the search of a pager incident to a lawful arrest, the search of a pager pursuant to a general search warrant and the search of a pager based on consent.