Another Federal Judge Says Cell Tower Dumps Are Unconstitutional

Another Federal Judge Says Cell Tower Dumps Are Unconstitutional

Well, it looks like investigators better go back to doing actual investigations in the Fifth Circuit, rather than just assuming a little paperwork and a whole lot of assistance from service providers is going to do their work for them. For at least the second time in the same state (Mississippi), federal judges have rejected […]

‘Unfettered access into individuals’ lives’: Feds can’t use ‘tower-dump warrants’ in search for suspects, judge rules

Background: A cellular tower in the USA on Feb. 22, 2024. (Photo by Carlos Kosienski/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images). Inset: District Judge Carlton W. Reeves (United States Sentencing Commission). A federal judge in Mississippi has ruled that the Trump administration cannot access troves of cellular data containing citizens’ information to surveil a select group of...

Federal Judge Rules Sweeping ‘Tower Dump’ Warrants Are Unconstitutional

A federal judge in Mississippi ruled on Aug. 5 that so-called tower dump warrants are unconstitutional. A tower dump warrant covers all devices connected to specified cell towers during a given time frame. It generally yields large volumes of data, the vast majority of which belongs to people with no connection to a crime. It is different from a geofence warrant, in which law enforcement asks a company that stores precise location data for devic…

'Tower Dump' Warrants Ruled Unconstitutional

alternative_right shares a report from The Hill: A federal judge in Mississippi ruled Wednesday that "tower dump" warrants are unconstitutional, declining to reverse a lower court decision refusing the government's request to obtain the search warrants in a series of violent crime investigations. A ...