In a landmark 5-4 decision, the United States Supreme Court held that the government conducts a search under the Fourth Amendment and therefore, absent exigent circumstances, needs a warrant supported by probable cause when obtaining cell-site location information (i.e., records of the cell towers to which mobile devices connect). The majority reached that conclusion based on the determination that such location records are subject to a reasonable expectation of privacy that continues to apply even though the location records are disclosed to the cell phone user’s wireless carrier, a third party.
Tag Archives: reasonable expectation of privacy
U.S. Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments in Texting Case
A brief summary of the April 19, 2010 oral argument before the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of City of Ontario v. Quon, a Fourth Amendment privacy case on appeal from the Ninth Circuit.
Supreme Court to Decide Reasonable Expectation of Privacy in Text Messages on Employer-Provided Devices
On December 14, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in City of Ontario v. Quon, a case that could set the parameters for the rights of employees in the workplace to privacy in their electronic communications, or just as easily be narrowly resolved on constitutional grounds with little implications for private employers. Quon, an officer with the […]