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Carpenter v. United States

United States Supreme Court

138 S.Ct. 2206 (2018)

Facts

Police suspected Timothy Carpenter (defendant) in a series of robberies. The government obtained a court order under the Stored Communications Act allowing it to access cell-site location information (CSLI) records from Carpenter’s wireless carriers. The records identified cell sites Carpenter’s phone used to make calls during a four-month period when the robberies occurred. That data effectively tracked Carpenter’s movements by logging his location about 100 times a day, placing him near four of the robberies. Carpenter tried unsuccessfully to suppress the cell-site data at trial and appealed his conviction. The Supreme Court granted review.

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Holding and Reasoning (Roberts, C.J.)

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Dissent (Gorsuch, J.)

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Dissent (Alito, J.)

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Dissent (Kennedy, J.)

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