The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a brief supporting a challenge to the use of a cellphone tracking device in a federal case in Maryland, arguing that the technology raises \"serious Fourth Amendment concerns\" and that authorities misled a judge in obtaining a court order. <\/p>\n
The case involves a murder-for-hire sting conducted by Baltimore police and the FBI this year, according to court records. Police gave a cellphone to Derrick Smith so he could communicate with an undercover officer, and later used a device known as a stingray to locate the phone. <\/p>\n
The device, which was developed for the military, mimics a cellphone tower to force all phones in range to connect to it. Civil liberties advocates say it exposes the information of bystanders. <\/p>\n
The stingray helped police pinpoint the phone inside the home of Robert Harrison, who along with Smith is now facing murder-for-hire charges. <\/p>\n
The disclosure by authorities that they had used a stingray was a rare admission regarding a technology that police across the country have sought to keep secret, The Baltimore Sun reported this week. <\/p>\n
Harrison's attorney, C. Justin Brown, is fighting to suppress the phone evidence on the grounds that its use amounted to a search that was not clearly authorized by a court order. <\/p>\n
The government, in its response to Brown's filing, said it could not discuss the technology in detail but that the court order police obtained was appropriate. <\/p>\n
In its supporting brief, the ACLU adds to Brown's arguments, saying the device's ability to locate phones inside homes raises questions about whether it is subject to sufficient court oversight. <\/p>\n
\"No search warrant would permit the police to search the homes of every house in a neighborhood,\" the ACLU atorneys wrote. \"Yet, with the stingray, the police can do just that, searching every home, vehicle, purse and pocket in a given area without anyone ever learning that their devices were searched by the police.\" <\/p>\n
The organization cites two recent cases, reported by The Baltimore Sun, in which police said they were able to locate a phone inside a home or moving vehicle. Prosecutors in two other Baltimore cases withdrew evidence recently after police told a city judge they couldn't discuss the device. <\/p>\n
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Link: The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a brief supporting a challenge to the use of a cellphone tracking device in a federal case in Maryland, arguing that the technology raises \"serious Fourth Amendment concerns\" and that authorities misled a judge in obtaining a court order. Continue reading
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