City and zoo officials want to inspect the Dhaliwals' phones and BMW to help defend against an expected civil lawsuit. Police are investigating possible criminal activity.

"San Francisco is just concerned about the truth," Deputy City Attorney Sean Connolly said after the Wednesday hearing in San Jose. "We know that something happened out there at the zoo that motivated this tiger. ... If there is any evidence of what happened during that period of time, it's contained in those cell phones."

Attorneys for the brothers have denied that they teased the animal, in spite of witness accounts that the Dhaliwals were harassing a lion at the big-cat grotto shortly before the attack.