Category Archives: Cell site location information

DE: No standing in another’s cell phone

There’s no reasonable expectation of privacy or standing in someone else’s cell phone. State v. Hunt, 2023 Del. Super. LEXIS 775 (Sep. 19, 2023).* Defendant was mistaken that GX48 for trial was the product of a search warrant. It wasn’t. … Continue reading

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Just Security: Resolving Carpenter’s Third-Party Paradox (Part I – The Paradox)

Just Security: Resolving Carpenter’s Third-Party Paradox (Part I – The Paradox) by Michael Dreeben, Elizabeth N. Hadley, Conor S. O’Shea and Johanna Seale: The Fourth Amendment revolution in Carpenter v. United States has produced a constitutional world that seems – … Continue reading

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CA6: Absconding parolee on electronic monitoring had no standing against using OnStar to find him

“Although the Supreme Court has expressly declined to hold that a parolee categorically has no expectation of privacy in any context, … Lenhart, as a parolee who was subject to electronic monitoring as a condition of his parole, had no … Continue reading

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NY4: No limitation in cell phone search was included, and it was thus not particular

The cell phone warrant sought all information on it about a 48 hour period without limitation, and it was vague and overbroad. “The warrant contained no language incorporating any other documents or facts. Significantly, the search of the phone was … Continue reading

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E.D.Cal.: “No viable Takings Clause claim occurs when property has been disturbed by a lawful search warrant.”

“No viable Takings Clause claim occurs when property has been disturbed by a lawful search warrant. See AmeriSource Corp. v. United States, 525 F.3d 1149, 1154 (Fed. Cir. 2008) (‘so long as the government’s exercise of authority was pursuant to … Continue reading

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RI: Exigency of hot pursuit in a homicide case made pinging cell phone reasonable

Despite Carpenter saying it is limited to historical CSLI, this court concludes there is no meaningful difference between real-time and historical CSLI under Carpenter. Exigency, however, was real. The police were in hot pursuit seeking to question defendant for a … Continue reading

Posted in Cell phones, Cell site location information, Emergency / exigency, Hot pursuit, Particularity, Prison and jail searches, Qualified immunity, Reasonableness | Comments Off on RI: Exigency of hot pursuit in a homicide case made pinging cell phone reasonable

NE: Cell phone tower dump 15 min. before and after a shooting was reasonable

A cell phone tower dump for 15 minutes before and after a shooting was reasonable. It did not implicate the “privacies of life” that would be with CSLI for an extended period of time, as in Carpenter. State v. Elias, … Continue reading

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D.Idaho: With PC to arrest, use of CSLI to locate ptf did not violate 4A

Probable cause existed for plaintiff’s arrest for eluding officers before his GPS location sharing was utilized to find him. And, state law and rules have no bearing on the federal claim. Larrea v. Koreis, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 104699 (D. … Continue reading

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NY Kings Co.: Def on video at a subway station near a robbery where he was already a suspect was enough for CSLI for his phone

Defendant is charged with robbery on a subway car in the Bronx. Video from a station was matched to his picture as a likely match. That was reliable enough to seek CSLI from his phone to see if he was … Continue reading

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NY Albany Co.: Overbroad location data search remedied by narrowing to two hours

The search warrant for defendant’s location data for the week before and week after the crime was overbroad. The court instead allows the state to use the hour before and hour after. People v. Williams, 2023 NY Slip Op 23137, … Continue reading

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D.N.M.: Three days of warrantless real time CSLI was reasonable because of exigency

Three days of real time CSLI was obtained by the police because of a missing child, and it was reasonable as exigency. United States v. Torres, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 44017 (D.N.M. Mar. 15, 2023).* No qualified immunity for Tasing … Continue reading

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N.D.Ga.: Realtime CSLI for 24 hours based on exigency was reasonable under Carpenter

Realtime CSLI for one day to locate defendant and a child he had with him was reasonable under Carpenter. United States v. Castellanos, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 41654 (N.D. Ga. Feb. 17, 2023), adopted, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 40281 (N.D. … Continue reading

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ars technica: FBI finally admits to buying location data on Americans, horrifying experts

ars technica: FBI finally admits to buying location data on Americans, horrifying experts by Ashley Belanger (“FBI director denied that the agency currently purchases location data.”)

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M.D.Pa.: SW for cash derived from drug sales was particular enough

The search warrant for U.S. currency derived from illegal drug sales was sufficiently particular as to the warrant for defendant’s house. United States v. Jones, 2023 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 33429 (M.D. Pa. Feb. 28, 2023). The CSLI warrant here was … Continue reading

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Cal.4: Without specific argument, court won’t look to SW and affidavit to make it for the appellant

Without specific argument, the court of appeals will not scour the record and the search warrant affidavit to make a party’s argument for him. Billauer v. Escobar-Eck, 2023 Cal. App. LEXIS 144 (4th Dist. Feb. 28, 2023) (anti-SLAPP case; not … Continue reading

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VT: Realtime CSLI (“pinging”) requires a SW under state constitution

Realtime CSLI (“pinging”) requires a search warrant under the state constitution, following some states. That information is not regularly kept by cell phone providers, and the state has an interest in protecting that privacy interest. State v. Murphy, 2023 VT … Continue reading

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S.D.Ill.: Overheard comment CI would be harmed was RS for stop

Overheard information that defendant was traveling to Cape Girardeau, Missouri to harm a CI was reasonable suspicion for his stop. When a dog alerted, too, that permitted a search anywhere in the car where drugs could be hidden. United States … Continue reading

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CA9: Private search of CSLI made it admissible in admin proceeding

The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries received information from whistleblowers of cell site location information the defendant business collected to show alleged violations of state law. This was a private search, and Carpenter is not implicated. Kleiser v. … Continue reading

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SC: Exigency for CSLI was shooting victim left for dead and defendant was armed and dangerous

There was exigency for CSLI. “Thus, this was not a standard criminal investigation seeking cell phone data; rather, this request sought to address an ongoing emergency because Carter was potentially armed and dangerous, had been involved in a violent crime … Continue reading

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CA6: Carpenter not retroactive and doesn’t support successor habeas

Carpenter doesn’t suffice for a successor habeas. Besides, he’d lose on the merits. “Taylor cannot meet the statutory criteria for filing a second or successive habeas corpus petition. First, he does not rely on any newly discovered evidence. Second, ‘the … Continue reading

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