Supreme Court Weighs Arguments Over How Police Request Location Data to Solve Crimes

The Supreme Court heard Chatrie v. United States, a case on whether geofence warrants let police obtain Google location data from everyone near a crime scene.

The dispute stems from a 2019 Virginia bank robbery, where geofence data helped investigators narrow suspects and arrest Okello T. Chatrie.

Critics say these warrants are too broad because they can sweep up innocent bystanders and expose private location records.

The ruling could reshape how law enforcement accesses digital location data and how the Fourth Amendment applies to broad searches.