Another factoid from the story is that the MI police apparently have a whopping five of these in the entire state. It would seem to follow that a phone would need to be formally seized to be thus read in most traffic cases.
Seems that more serious questions would arise from using what is marketed as a cell phone provider gadget for the ease of providing customer service (like for exchanges or upgrades of old phones), in a legal and evidence capacity. Is the device legally certified to get everything right? It, and any police action taken relying on it, could suffer in court that way much as uncalibrated breathalyzers do.
In other words, the program is in the ramp-up stage, awaiting funding for more widespread implementation after the MSP decides such data collection procedures are feasible and useful. No point in waiting for full implementation before nipping this in the bud.
It would seem to follow that a phone would need to be formally seized to be thus read in most traffic cases.
The allegation is that these are being used in routine traffic stops (implying that they're being used on the scene). This is an important distinction, and IMO key to the usefulness of a program like this. Imagine the administrative nightmare of seizing multiple phones from traffic stops, taking them to a central facility for data extraction, and then getting them back to their owners. I'm sure we'd be hearing about this from more than just Cnet if it was happening this way.
wow, ive never had a cop give me the choice of 'cooperating' or going directly to jail, where once officially arrested, the aforementioned cooperation is pointless...
most people would simply give occifer friendly the phone, in hopes of driving away afterwards...
can you say WOsD ??? i knew ya could...