KY: REP in CSLI

There is a reasonable expectation of privacy in one’s CSLI. One can have a reasonable expectation of privacy in his or her movements on public roads. Commonwealth v. Reed, 2022 Ky. LEXIS 132 (June 16, 2022):

Today we answer the question left open by this court in Hedgepath v. Commonwealth and by the United States Supreme Court in Carpenter—individuals have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their cell phone’s cell-site location information and, thus, that information is entitled to constitutional protection under the Fourth Amendment. Absent an exception to the warrant requirement, as described below, law enforcement must obtain a warrant before acquiring a person’s cell-site location information.

To hold, in the alternative, that there is no reasonable expectation of privacy in CSLI, would empower government agents to invade individuals’ most private and closely-held constitutionally protected activities. For instance, the government could surveil in real time when, and precisely where, individuals were in the confines of their private homes, at a place of worship, engaging in political activities, or exercising their right to free speech. Such an invasion is precisely the sort that we find the average citizen unwilling to accept.

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