Does the Fourth Amendment protect text messages sent over a cell phone?

In Silverman v. United States the Supreme Court held that that the Fourth Amendment does not protect conversations, therefore wiretapping does not constitute a search and seizure.  The case was reversed in Katz v. United States, when Justice Harlan proposed a two pronged test of whether public actions should be considered private and therefore protected.   1)  Has the person exhibited an expectation of privacy?  and 2) is the expectation of privacy one that society is prepared to recognize as ‘reasonable.’

In more recent decisions, the Supreme Court has found that society is not prepared to extend privacy rights to bank customers regarding their bank statements and that society was not prepared to recognize a privacy right-to grow a backyard crop of marijuana.

The Questions:

• Does the Fourth Amendment protect text messages sent over a cell phone?

• Is there a “reasonable expectation of privacy” when texts are sent?

o Did Mr. Doe exhibit an expectation of privacy when he sent the texts?

o Is there a societal expectation of privacy in the process of text messaging?