August 2, 2013
Source: All Gov.
Law enforcement does not need to get a warrant in order to obtain cell phone data revealing where a person has been, according to a federal appeals court ruling (pdf).
In a 2-1 ruling by a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals panel of judges in New Orleans, the court said police can bypass getting a search warrant and compel cell phone companies to turn over location data for a customer because the information is “clearly a business record” and therefore not protected by the Fourth Amendment, which guards against illegal searches. Presumably, anyone who purchases a cell phone automatically gives up a certain about of privacy.
The judges voting against the requirement of a warrant were Edith Brown Clement, who was appointed by George W. Bush, and 92-year-old Thomas Morrow Reavley, who was appointed by Jimmy Carter. Clement, who was originally appointed to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana by Bush’s father, wrote the majority opinion. Judge James L. Dennis, who was appointed by Bill Clinton, wrote a 28-page dissent to the decision.
“This decision is a big deal,” Catherine Crump, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union, told The New York Times. “It’s a big deal and a big blow to Americans’ privacy rights.”
for more, click here: /No_Warrant_Needed Federal Court Rules
Source: All Gov.
Law enforcement does not need to get a warrant in order to obtain cell phone data revealing where a person has been, according to a federal appeals court ruling (pdf).
In a 2-1 ruling by a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals panel of judges in New Orleans, the court said police can bypass getting a search warrant and compel cell phone companies to turn over location data for a customer because the information is “clearly a business record” and therefore not protected by the Fourth Amendment, which guards against illegal searches. Presumably, anyone who purchases a cell phone automatically gives up a certain about of privacy.
The judges voting against the requirement of a warrant were Edith Brown Clement, who was appointed by George W. Bush, and 92-year-old Thomas Morrow Reavley, who was appointed by Jimmy Carter. Clement, who was originally appointed to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana by Bush’s father, wrote the majority opinion. Judge James L. Dennis, who was appointed by Bill Clinton, wrote a 28-page dissent to the decision.
“This decision is a big deal,” Catherine Crump, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union, told The New York Times. “It’s a big deal and a big blow to Americans’ privacy rights.”
for more, click here: /No_Warrant_Needed Federal Court Rules
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