Carpenter v. United States
A plain-English summary from Criminal Defense Resources™, a free resource for pro per/pro se defendants and their families.
- Court
- U.S. Supreme Court
- Decided
- Citation
- 585 U.S. 296 (2018)
What did the court decide?
The Court held that when the government obtains a person's historical cell-site location records from a phone company, that is a Fourth Amendment search, and police generally need a warrant.
Why does it matter?
Location history from phone carriers is now protected in ways that many older types of business records are not. The Court called its decision narrow and said it was not deciding questions about real-time location data or "tower dumps" (a download of information on all devices that connected to a cell tower during a period of time).
Where can I read the full opinion?
Read the full opinion on Cornell Law School LII →
Always read the full opinion and check whether later cases have limited or changed it. A summary can leave out important details.