Upfront magazine Nonfiction Reading Response by Demitrius Hilerio

       In the article "Can Your Phone Testify Against You?" by Patricia Smith, Patricia Smith talks about whether it's right or wrong for the police to look through a persons electronics and digital profiles to find information. Smith begins by talking about a court case that had to do with a person that committed a crime and got his phone searched by the police. The author then transitions into talking about how the police invaded the mans privacy by looking into his phone. The author basically does this because she wants the readers to think about whether the police should be authorized to look through someones device or not even in a criminal situation. Smith then talks about how the fourth amendment has changed from when it was first written until now. Then to finish the article off smith talks about the situations the police can look through a persons device and that people have the right to delte posts, searches and more. This article showed me that our information is more accesible and to think what I post or what I search.

    In the article Smith uses other peoples opinions to and quotes to support her topic sentences in almost every paragraph. For example: "Butler says the ruling also has huge implications for future privacy cases. 'courts will now be more likely to rule in favor of greater privacy protection for digital records,' he says." These quotes are said by experts that study digital privacy and people in the government that have a strong opinion on something the author has mentioned in the article. The author uses these important quotes to elaborate and to make sure the reader understands what courts are beginning to understand about the modern age of technology. I think the Smith didn't present the actual peoples opinions. I think it would've made the article even stronger to include the people that have gotten their device searched to show the point of view of the person that has been through this personally. I think Smith has chosen quots that truly support the main idea of the article and that definetly shows a point of view.

   In the article another technique Smith uses is including real life court cases that display the authors main idea and that can start an opinion. One example of this is like I said before when Smith included the part in the article when the man got his phone searched by the police illegally. For example: "Later, police found information on Riley's phone linking him to a shooting. Riley was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. But in a landmark ruling about privacy rights this summer, the Supreme Court overturned Riley's conviction. The justices ruled that police need to ask permission or get a warrant from a judge to search someone's phone-just as the police need permission to search inside someone's home." I think the author included this specific court case because it's not only completely relevant to the authors main idea, but it shapes the rest of the article. Smith used this piece of evidence like a hook, she used it to grab the readers attention and then build off of it so it can relate back to the whole article. This piece of evidence also kind of gives away the authors main focus of the article and what she wants you to know.

 The article can relate to the real world completely because technology is such an important thing now and is evolving even more to beome more and more a part of our lives. This article made me realize that technology is changing the way us humans handle crime and daily life. I would like to continue researching about how the fourth amendment relates to technology and when it can and cannot be applied. This article has changed my thinking about technology and how serious it can be and how it's not always a positive thing. This article remind me of Edward Snowden, the man who exposed the government for spying on peoples devices, which was also a debate about digital privacy and a event that is still being talked about.

                                                                         Works Cited

Smith, Patricia. "Can Your Phone Tesify Against You." New York Times Upfront 1 Sept. 2014: n. pag. Web. 18 Nov. 2014.