Justices ponder need for warrant for cellphone tower data
Timothy Carpenter
The court will hear arguments in  an appeal by federal prison inmate Timothy Carpenter .  He  is serving a 116-year sentence after a jury convicted  him  of armed robberies in the Detroit area and northwestern Ohio.
Investigators helped build their case by matching  Carpenter 's use of  his  smartphone to cell towers near Radio Shack and T-Mobile stores that had been robbed. The question is whether prosecutors should have been required to convince a judge that they had good reason  or probable cause  to believe  Carpenter  was involved in the crime. That's the standard set out in the Constitution's Fourth Amendment  which also prohibits unreasonable searches. Prosecutors obtained the records by meeting a lower standard of proof.
The American Civil Liberties Union  representing  Carpenter   said in court papers that the records "make it possible to reconstruct in detail everywhere an individual has traveled over hours  days  weeks or months."
In  Carpenter 's case  authorities obtained cellphone records for 127 days and could determine when he slept at home and where he attended church on Sunday  said the ACLU's Nathan Freed Wessler.
The court will hear arguments in  an appeal by [TGT] .  [TGT]  is serving a 116-year sentence after a jury convicted  [TGT]  of armed robberies in the Detroit area and northwestern Ohio.
Investigators helped build their case by matching  [TGT] 's use of  [TGT]  smartphone to cell towers near Radio Shack and T-Mobile stores that had been robbed. The question is whether prosecutors should have been required to convince a judge that they had good reason  or probable cause  to believe  [TGT]was involved in the crime. That's the standard set out in the Constitution's Fourth Amendment  which also prohibits unreasonable searches. Prosecutors obtained the records by meeting a lower standard of proof.
The American Civil Liberties Union  representing  [TGT]said in court papers that the records "make it possible to reconstruct in detail everywhere an individual has traveled over hours  days  weeks or months."
In  [TGT] 's case  authorities obtained cellphone records for 127 days and could determine when [TGT] slept at home and where [TGT] attended church on Sunday  said the ACLU's Nathan Freed Wessler.