No appeals court had taken the position that warrantless border searches were unconstitutional. The court took an overdue step forward and defended travelers' rights.

A United States court ruled on July 24 that the Fourth Amendment right to privacy in the U.S. Constitution protects travelers from “nonroutine searches” of their cellphones at the border.

There is a “substantial risk that allowing warrantless searches of incoming travelers’ electronic devices will unduly burden, chill, or otherwise infringe upon their First Amendment activities,” Judge Nina Morrison also acknowledged.