Cell Phone Data and Expectations of Privacy

http://ow.ly/7aUkw

An article by Peter A. Crusco published in the New York Law Journal and appearing on law.com on the LTN webpage.

This article discusses issues that pertain to privacy rights, as they arise with respect to cell phone use.

The article discusses a number of topics, and provides commentary regarding the following issues:

EXPECTATION OF PRIVACY
THIRD-PARTY EXCEPTION
CASE LAW AND CONGRESS
DEBATE ON ACCESS STANDARD
NEW YORK STATE AND CSLI

The article provides a number of reference, and offers links to other materials about this topic.

With respect to case law standards, and expectations of privacy, the author writes, "More recently, there have been significant though conflicting judicial interpretations concerning government access to cellular telephone records (cell site location information or CSLI), which data has been essential in many criminal investigations."

The author further states, "In 2010, in United States v. Maynard,  the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, breaking from decisions of other circuits, found that the GPS surveillance conducted by police in Maynard for four weeks of defendant's vehicle required a search warrant. During the trial the GPS evidence established a pattern in the defendant's activity and revealed the defendant's movements making the drug trafficking allegations more credible. The court found that the prolonged use of GPS surveillance violated his reasonable expectation of privacy and constituted a Fourth Amendment search."