4th Cir. Takes Hard Look at Geofence Warrants in Google Argument

A Fourth Circuit panel expressed openness Friday to revisiting a lower court’s ruling on the use of mobile location data helped convict a bank robbery suspect and its treatment of the constitutional conflict at the heart of the case.

US v. Chatrie marks the first instance of a criminal defendant challenging a conviction based in part on evidence from a geofence warrant. Use of such warrants, which allow the police to search a database of cellphone location data in a targeted area for suspects,have skyrocketed in recent years, leading more courts to grapple with the question of legitimacy. Earlier this ...