A federal Court of Appeals made a ruling early this week saying that the police won’t require a warrant to track mobile devices of suspects, overturning a decision in a previous privacy case.
The 11th U.S. appeals court in Atlanta felt the government never violated any privacy rights regarding an individual who was convicted in a 2010 armed robbery and currently serving a prison sentence.
The case serves as the latest test of the Fourth Amendment privacy protection rights against unreasonable seizure and searches in today’s digital era.
In a 2012 court ruling, prosecutors offered cell tower location information that strategically placed Quartavius Davis and his associates near the scene of robberies. In order to acquire a court order for the records, prosecutors only had to show that data taken from a prepaid wireless service was relevant to the probe.
Two of the judges said the Fourth Amendment requires the government to attain a warrant prior to accessing any cell location information.
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