The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that police
generally need a search warrant if they want to track criminal suspects’
movements by collecting information about where they’ve used their
cellphones, reported The Crime Report.
The 5-4 decision is a victory for privacy in the
digital age. Police collection of cellphone tower information has become an
important tool in criminal investigations. The case marks a major change in how
police can obtain phone records, according to The Associated Press.
Authorities can obtain information about the numbers
dialed from a home telephone without presenting a warrant. Chief Justice John
Roberts wrote the majority opinion, joined by the court’s four liberals.
Roberts said the decision is limited to cellphone
tracking information and does not affect other business records, including
those held by banks. “We hold only that a warrant is required in the rare case
where the suspect has a legitimate privacy interest in records held by a third
party,” he said. He added that police still can respond to an emergency and
obtain records without a warrant.
Justices Anthony Kennedy, Samuel Alito, Clarence
Thomas and Neil Gorsuch dissented. Kennedy said the court’s “new and uncharted
course will inhibit law enforcement” and “keep defendants and judges guessing
for years to come.”
In a separate dissent, Alito said, “I fear that
today’s decision will do far more harm than good.” He said “it guarantees a
blizzard of litigation while threatening many legitimate and valuable
investigative practices.”
The appeal was brought by Timothy Carpenter, who was
sentenced to 116 years in prison for his role in robberies of Radio Shack and
T-Mobile stores in Michigan and Ohio. Cell tower records that investigators got
without a warrant bolstered the case against Carpenter. Investigators got the
cell tower records with a court order that requires a lower standard than the
“probable cause” needed to obtain a warrant.
The American Civil Liberties Union, representing
Carpenter, said a warrant would provide protection against unjustified
government snooping. Technology companies including Apple, Facebook and Google
urged the Justices to continue bringing Fourth Amendment law into the modern
era, reports
the New York Times.
“No constitutional doctrine should presume,” their
brief said, “that consumers assume the risk of warrantless government
surveillance simply by using technologies that are beneficial and increasingly
integrated into modern life.”
To read more CLICK HERE
No comments:
Post a Comment