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Supreme Court sends ‘geofence warrant’ case back to lower court
The 6-3 ruling says police need a warrant for historical cellphone location data and sends Okello Chatrie’s case back for further review.
- The Supreme Court ruled Monday that law enforcement's use of "geofence" warrants constitutes a "search" under the Fourth Amendment, requiring police to demonstrate probable cause when requesting historical location data from Google.
- This ruling stems from Chatrie v. United States, a 2019 bank robbery case in Midlothian, Virginia, where investigators identified Okello Chatrie through a geofence warrant after exhausting traditional investigative leads.
- Writing for the majority in a 6-3 decision, Justice Elena Kagan emphasized that individuals have a "reasonable expectation of privacy" in location records, rejecting the government's "third-party doctrine" argument.
- Justices remanded the case to a lower court to determine if the warrant satisfied constitutional requirements, though Chatrie's conviction remains intact due to the good-faith exception.
- Justice Samuel Alito dissented, labeling the decision an "irresponsible escapade" that threatens to strip law enforcement of critical investigative tools, highlighting deep philosophical divisions over digital-age privacy rights.
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Associated Press News+3 Reposted by 3 other sources
Supreme Court rules constitutional privacy protections apply to cellphone users location history
The Supreme Court has held that constitutional privacy protections extend to cellphone location information, ruling in the case of a bank robber whose identity was discovered through a geofence warrant.
·New York, United States
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US Supreme Court says police need warrants for cellphone location data
The U.S. Supreme Court on April 9, 2026. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom) The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that law enforcement searches for the location history of cellphones near crime scenes are covered by the Fourth Amendment, requiring warrants to obtain the data. But the high court left unsettled when searches for the information are reasonable — likely meaning the justices will eventually weigh in again on the privacy rights of…
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Total News Sources36
Leaning Left10Leaning Right4Center18Last UpdatedBias Distribution56% Center
Bias Distribution
- 56% of the sources are Center
56% Center
L 31%
C 56%
13%
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