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posted by takyon on Thursday August 06 2015, @12:27PM   Printer-friendly
from the let-it-stand dept.

The United State Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has ruled that a "probable cause" warrant is required before law enforcement can obtain cellular location records for an individual. Two thieves in Baltimore were identified when their locations were correlated with robberies near Baltimore. Their conviction will be allowed to stand, as law enforcement had a good-faith belief that the technique was permissible at the time, but future investigations will be subject to the ruling. The US 4th Circuit is a Federal court that handles appeals from the states of Maryland, North and South Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia. The ruling does not apply in other districts, which so far have ruled against the requirement, but could allow cases in other states to reach the Supreme Court.

Ars Technica coverage:
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/08/warrant-required-for-mobile-phone-location-tracking-us-appeals-court-rules/

Link to the ruling, in PDF form:
http://www.ca4.uscourts.gov/Opinions/Published/124659.P.pdf


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  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by wonkey_monkey on Thursday August 06 2015, @03:09PM

    by wonkey_monkey (279) on Thursday August 06 2015, @03:09PM (#219104) Homepage

    as law enforcement had a good-faith belief that the technique was permissible at the time

    So now ignorance of the law is an excuse?

    --
    systemd is Roko's Basilisk
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +3  
       Insightful=3, Total=3
    Extra 'Insightful' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   5  
  • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Thursday August 06 2015, @03:29PM

    by bob_super (1357) on Thursday August 06 2015, @03:29PM (#219115)

    Selon que vous serez puissant ou misérable,
    Les jugements de cour vous rendront blanc ou noir.

    Les animaux malades de la peste, La Fontaine, 1668.

    [depending on being powerful or poor,
    the court judgments will have you white or black]

  • (Score: 2) by Anal Pumpernickel on Thursday August 06 2015, @04:36PM

    by Anal Pumpernickel (776) on Thursday August 06 2015, @04:36PM (#219143)

    Yes, the government can violate the highest law of the land, get off without being punished, and get to keep the convictions it got only because it violated the constitution if it claims ignorance. But try anything similar yourself and you'll end up behind bars. Nice work, courts. The powerful should be more accountable, not less.

  • (Score: 3, Informative) by Freeman on Thursday August 06 2015, @06:27PM

    by Freeman (732) on Thursday August 06 2015, @06:27PM (#219193) Journal

    Ignorance of the Law is no excuse, unless you are a police officer. Then, it is an acceptable excuse. http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2014/12/15/3603686/supreme-court-if-youre-a-cop-mistakes-about-the-law-wont-stop-your-drug-bust/ [thinkprogress.org] http://www.npr.org/2014/12/15/370995815/supreme-court-rules-traffic-stop-ok-despite-misunderstanding-of-law/ [npr.org] Though, what they are referring to, is when the Officer is acting in Good Faith while performing his job. So, let that be a lesson to everyone who keeps MJ in their car.

    --
    Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
  • (Score: 1) by unzombied on Friday August 07 2015, @12:00AM

    by unzombied (4572) on Friday August 07 2015, @12:00AM (#219326)

    No no no you ignoramus! Double-standards of the law [theatlantic.com] are the excuse.