North Dakota police confiscate then return reporter’s phone

By DAVE KOLPACK
Associated Press

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem says a police investigator violated state law by confiscating a radio journalist’s cellphone without a valid warrant and has been forced to return the device. Tom Simon, who works for Williston Trending Topics News Radio Live and Coyote Radio 98.5, was asked to turn over his phone at a school board meeting Monday by Charissa Remus, an agent for the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation. Under North Dakota’s shield law, information obtained by a journalist cannot be seized without a hearing before a judge to determine if a search warrant is required. No such hearing took place.