NJ Cellphone ‘Tower Dumps’ Need Warrants, Probable Cause (1)

Police “tower dump” demands—which capture cell data of thousands of people in a geographic location—require warrants and limited scopes to be constitutional, a New Jersey appeals court ruled Thursday.

Law enforcement requests that major cellular phone providers give the cell numbers located within a 193-square-mile area of a South Plainfield, NJ, home break-in were overboard and violated protections against unreasonable searches under the US and state constitutions, the New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division said.

“Having reviewed the non-binding cases from other jurisdictions, we are persuaded by the reasoning that tower dump searches can be constitutional, but they need a ...