Does the Government Need a Search Warrant to Obtain Cell Phone Location Data?: Within the Past Month, the Fifth Circuit said “No” while the New Jersey Supreme Court said “Yes”

The historical location data of a given individual’s cellular telephone can be put to a startling array of uses by state and federal law enforcement. Really, it is not hard to figure out how. Cellular phones send out signals at short time intervals in order to establish the presence of a nearby cell tower and to connect to it as required. This location information is recorded and preserved by the industry’s various service providers—T-Mobile, Sprint and the like.

The police have figured it out. If one can find the cell phone; in most cases, you can find its user and/or owner.

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