The CO Supreme Court ruled on 4/8/19 that when a suspect gave police his passcode so they could tell his girlfriend where his car was parked rather than the car being towed, the suspect gave up his rights to keep that passcode private and the police were allowed to use it to search his phone after getting a warrant.
“This case reinforces the importance of what should be a fundamental principle for every citizen: If you are at all suspected of committing a crime, never provide the police with information without first consulting with an attorney.”
“You may think you are only giving the police permission to do one thing,” Farrell said, “only to later find out — when it is too late — that the information can be used for an entirely different purpose.” Ian P. Farrell, associate professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law.