Key Documents
- United States v. Chatrie E.D. VA Ruling (2022)
- Geofence Search Warrant
- Motion to Suppress Geofence Warrant
- Defendant's Reply - Motion to Suppress
- Supplemental Motion to Suppress
- Post-Hearing Supplemental Motion to Suppress
- Post-Hearing Reply - Motion to Suppress
- United States v. Chatrie March 4, 2022 Transcript
- United States v. Chatrie March 5, 2022 Transcript
- 4th Circuit Appeal Brief
- Joint Appendix
- EFF and NYU Tech, Law & Policy Clinic Amicus Brief
- ACLU, ACLU VA, and Eight Federal Public Defender Offices within the Fourth Circuit Amicus Brief
- Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press Amicus Brief
- Reply Brief
- Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Decision
- Petition for Rehearing En Banc
Discovery
- Geofence Discovery Motion
- Motion to Seal Raw Data Returns Provided by Google
- Supplemental Brief on the Application of Brady and Rule 16 to a Suppression Hearing
- Defendant's Reply to Government's Supplemental Brief
Amicus Briefs
- Amicus Brief by Google, LLC In Support of Neither Party
- Defendant's Response to Google's Amicus Brief
- Amicus Brief by ACLU, ACLU Virginia, and EFF in Support of Defendant's En Banc Petition
- Amicus Brief by The Reporters Committe For Freedom of the Press in Support of Defendant's En Banc Petition
- Amicus Brief by Project for Privacy and Surveillance Accountabiliyt in Support of Defendant's En Banc Petition
Subpoena to Google
- Motion for Subpoena Duces Tecum
- Order Granting Subpoena to Google
- Google Affidavits Responding to Subpoena
- Motion for a Second Subpoena Duces Tecum
- Defendant's Supplemental Response Regarding Standing
Featured
Cellphone dragnet used to find bank robbery suspect was unconstitutional, judge says
"[Chatrie's] lawyers, including Michael Price, the lead litigator of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers’ Fourth Amendment Center, argued that the geofence warrant violated the Constitution and that the information police got from it should be thrown out."
Creepy ‘Geofence’ Finds Anyone Who Went Near a Crime Scene
"Lawyers for Okello Chatrie, a suspect in a Virginia bank robbery, are questioning the legality of a geofence warrant that led to Chatrie’s arrest. Google declined to take a position on his case but, in an amicus brief, called a geofence request 'an uniquely broad search of all Google users' timelines.'"
Police Requests for Google Users’ Location Histories Face New Scrutiny
"Roughly one-third of all Google users opted in as of last year, according to the company’s filings in the case, sending information related to tens or potentially hundreds of millions of people to a database known internally as Sensorvault. A Google representative declined to provide precise numbers."
Google’s Geofence Warrants Face a Major Legal Challenge
"No matter how it is decided, United States v. Chatrie will likely spark other cases. If some succeed and are appealed, that would bump the issue up to the higher courts and maybe — especially if judges disagree — into a Supreme Court case that changes the law. A flurry of litigation might also convince lawmakers to pass federal legislation that either bans geofence warrants or spells out how they should be executed."
Archive
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Law Enforcement Is Using Location Tracking on Mobile Devices to Identify Suspects, But Is It Unconstitutional?
Wendy Davis, ABA Journal -
Do Geofence Warrants Violate the Fourth Amendment?
Nathaniel Sobel, Lawfare -
Defense challenges use of Google location data from everyone in vicinity of Hull Street Road bank robbery
Frank Green, Richmond Times-Dispatch -
An accused bank robber claims the police broke the law when they used Google location data to track him down. Privacy advocates agree.
Mack DeGeurin, Insider -
Alleged bank robber accuses police of illegally using Google location data to catch him.
Deanna Paul, Washington Post -
What Is A Geofence Warrant? Bank Robbery Accused Snagged Using Google Maps Location Data.
Hercules Reyes, International Business Times -
Police used Google location data to find an accused bank robber. He says that's illegal.
Jon Schuppe, NBC News
