Unlock your phone in front of police? N.J. court says they can use it.

A New Jersey appeals court says police didn’t violate a man’s rights by watching him enter his phone passcode while in custody — rejecting his claim that it was unconstitutional.

Tyrone K. Ellison, who was convicted of kidnapping, sexual assault, and drug distribution in a 2022 trial , argued that a detective improperly obtained his phone passcode during booking and later used it to access incriminating evidence.

However, the Appellate Division said Ellison voluntarily entered the passcode in front of the officer and wasn’t tricked or forced to do so.

In a published ruling, the judges found that Ellison had no “reasonable expectation of privacy” at that moment, especially since the phone had already been lawfully seized under a search warrant.

They also said that even if the office