Police Search of ‘Tower-Dump’ Records Ruled Unconstitutional

Police warrants seeking records from all cell phones connected to specified cell towers at a particular time—known as “tower-dump” data—violate the Fourth Amendment, a federal judge in Nevada ruled.

An order allowing police to access to this kind of mobile-network information is a general warrant that’s forbidden under the US Constitution, Judge Miranda M. Du of the US District Court for the District of Nevada said April 11.

But she declined to suppress evidence from the tower dump that led to charges against defendant Cory Spurlock related to a murder-for-hire conspiracy. There was probable cause for the issuance of a ...