Photographs found on cellphones are fair game for law enforcement so long as they have a warrant, according to a high court decision that has alarmed defense attorneys, civil rights advocates — and even a few judges — who say the ruling chips away at privacy rights.

“This opens the door to potential violations of citizen privacy rights in a way that makes me uncomfortable,” said criminal defense attorney David Yannetti. “We have search warrants for a reason. It seems to me like this is a fishing expedition.”

The state Supreme Judicial Court, in a split decision, held that if there is probable cause that information on a phone links a suspect to a crime, police can search the photo files.

The case stemmed from a warrant authorizing a search of Denis Dorelas’ iPhone for evidence that would link him and another suspect to a shooting in Hyde Park in 2011. Photographs showing Dorelas with a gun and dressed in the same clothes described by witnesses to the shooting were found.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which filed a brief in support of Dorelas, said the SJC did not give police any guidance in its decision.

“Everyone agrees that cellphones hold a lot of information, and that the information needs to be protected,” said ACLU staff attorney Jessie Rossman. “We need very clear standards for police officers who are issuing warrant applications.”

Justice Barbara Lenk, joined by Justice Fernande R.V. Duffly and Geraldine S. Hines, dissented and argued that a photo search was not supported by probable cause and that the ?warrant was not sufficiently particular.