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Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Cops Can Track Cellphones Without Warrants, Appeals Court Rules

A divided federal appeals court ruled today that the government does not need a probable-cause warrant to access mobile-phone subscribers’ cell-site information, a decision reversing lower court decisions that said the location data was protected by the Fourth Amendment.

The 2-1 decision by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is the third federal appeals court to decide the privacy issue. Adding to the possibility that the U.S. Supreme Court might take up the topic, New Jersey’s high court two weeks ago ruled that warrants were required for the location data.

All the while, two federal appellate courts have now taken the government’s position that court warrants are not required for the location data. And a third federal appellate court said judges had the option to demand warrants. All of which means some suspects are being convicted based on locational data of what towers their cellphones are pinging, and others are not, because some courts are requiring warrants.

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5 comments:

Anonymous said...

time to get a disposable prepaid phone.

Anonymous said...

That would be a "Bama" phone 8:28

Anonymous said...

The politically appointed liberals in the federal courts could care less about the constitution. The whole system is rotten to the core. Time for a reset, as described by the founders.

Anonymous said...

lol, Keep buying them stupid cell phones.

Anonymous said...

So, basically, any cop can sign some paperwork and access your personal phone records, texts, conversations without cause or justification based on any erroneous hunch or any level of paranoid overzealous suspicion?
That's very similar to tag reading and/or cops running your plates for driving while blonde or playing music or driving the wrong color car in the wrong place.
Kinda like the Soviet Union.