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How Do Geofence Warrants Work in a Georgia Criminal Investigation?

CrimDef13

Modern smartphones allow us to record and track our movements at all times. Of course, this also makes it possible for others to track you as well. Companies like Google maintain massive databases of user geolocation data. Law enforcement is well aware of this, and as such, they often rely on so-called geofence warrants to aid them in their criminal investigations.

A geofence warrant is a special warrant used to gather information on the presence of a cell phone or other mobile device within a specific area during a specific timeframe. For example, if the local police know a robbery occurred at a specific store at 2 p.m. on Friday, they could seek a geofence warrant asking Google or Apple to provide location for data for any of their users who were in the vicinity at that time.

Geofence warrants typically follow a three-step process:

  1. Law enforcement provides the company holding the data with the geographic area and timeframe for a search.
  2. The company provides law enforcement with an anonymized list of users or devices that match the criteria. Law enforcement can then seek additional information about specific users outside of the initial search parameters.
  3. After receiving and assessing the information provided, law enforcement can ask to “unmask” specific users and request their identifying information.

11th Circuit Rules Defendant Has No Standing to Challenge Geofence Warrants

The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution protects all persons from “unreasonable” searches by the police. Typically, this does not cover information obtained from a third party. In other words, you can challenge a police search of your own property due to a lack of a warrant, but you cannot challenge the search of someone else’s property, even if it leads to the discovery of incriminating information against you.

So how does this principle apply to the use of geofence warrants? The United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, which has federal appellate jurisdiction over Georgia, recently addressed this question. In United States v. Davis, the FBI obtained a geofence warrant as part of an investigation into a string of robberies and carjackings in Alabama. Google provided information under the warrant, which led to the identification of a phone belonging to the defendant’s girlfriend. This, in turn, helped lead to the defendant’s arrest.

The defendant moved to suppress the evidence gathered under the geofence warrant at trial. But both the trial court and the 11th Circuit held the defendant lacked legal standing to bring such a challenge. As the 11th Circuit explained, the defendant had no privacy interest in his girlfriend’s phone. Indeed, none of the Google records searched by the FBI belonged to the defendant. And even if it did, there is still a “background presumption” that a person has “no standing to challenge the search of records that he voluntarily gave to a third party.”

Contact Hawkins Spizman Trial Lawyers Today

As technology advances, law enforcement will continue to become more sophisticated in its use to further their objectives. If you are facing serious criminal charges, you must be prepared to defend yourself accordingly. If you need legal advice or representation from a qualified Atlanta theft lawyer, contact Hawkins Spizman Trial Lawyers today. We serve clients throughout Georgia including Atlanta, Dunwoody, Alpharetta, Cobb County, Fulton County, Gwinnett County, Johns Creek and Sandy Springs.

Source:

media.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/pub/files/202310184.pdf

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