U.S. Court of Appeals says no warrant needed for cell phone location

The entire U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a case from 2015 that ruled police needed a warrant to obtain cell phone location information from the service provider. The court ruled 12-3 that the government’s ability to get this information was legal. The court based it’s decision on prior cases that held when people voluntarily turn over information to third parties, as in this case, a telephone company, a warrant is not needed.  The judge wrote that police getting the cell-site information to show a person’s location was not an unreasonable search because cellphone users are mostly aware that they voluntarily share this information with the service provide.   Read more at Apple Insider

Fort Lauderdale Criminal Defense Lawyer