CrimLawProf: Let’s Be Reasonable About Geofence Warrants

CrimLawProf: Let’s Be Reasonable About Geofence Warrants by Stephen E. Henderson (“For years, I wrote a lot about the Fourth Amendment and new technologies (see summary in this note 6), so I was very pleased with the inflection point Carpenter v. United States, 585 U.S. 296 (2018), and I am naturally chuffed when the courts grapple with my work. So, I certainly appreciate the Fifth Circuit using a bit of that work in United States v. Smith, 110 F.4th 817 (5th Cir. 2025), most recently repeated in In re Four Applications for Search Warrants, No. 3:25-CR-38-CWR-ASH (S.D. Miss. Feb. 21, 2025). However, to the extent those courts categorically prohibit cell tower dumps (or ‘extractions’) and similar geofence requests as per se unreasonable general warrants, that is a step too far.”)