Nashville, TN asked in Juvenile Law for Tennessee

Q: Does a juvenile have right to privacy to their cell phone. If the cell phone was purchased by the parents.

Who would have to give consent to search the phone? The parents who bought it or the child who uses it?

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1 Lawyer Answer
Paul E. Tennison
Paul E. Tennison
Answered
  • Brentwood, TN
  • Licensed in Tennessee

A: There may be a reasonable expectation of privacy for a juvenile using a cell phone. I do not think there are enough facts here for me to fully answer this question. For example, where does this question arise? At school, home, police involvement? Each of those situations may have different law that applies.

In general, my best answer is the parent that purchase the phone has the right to consent to a search. Children do not own property under the law. The parents do and allow children to use the property they own. Good luck!

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