Keeping an Eye on Geofence Warrants

While a Maryland State court permitted a geofence warrant, Geofence Search Warrant Held Valid (Jun. 28, 2024), there is a split of authority between the Fourth and Fifth federal circuits.  Are Geofence Warrants Permissible? – A Circuit Split (Aug. 12, 2024).

On November 1, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit granted rehearing en banc.  U.S. v. Chatrie, 2024 WL 4648102 (4^th Cir. Nov 1, 2024).

Docket Entry 101, dated November 25, 2024, states that the case is calendared for oral argument on January 30, 2025.  See Docket, Case No. 22-4489 (4^th Cir.).

UPDATE: See J. Burkoff, and A. Kelley, “Search Warrant Law Deskbook” 15:24 (Feb. 2025 update)(discussing various approaches to geofence warrants); M. Radford, “Back to the Future: Revising State Constitutions to Protect Against New Technological Intrusions,” 81 Wash. & Lee L. Rev. 1641, 1643-44 (Fall, 2024)(“Imagine you go for a bike ride around your neighborhood and decide to track it using a fitness app. Unbeknownst to you, there is a home burglary along your route. Google then notifies you that they will be releasing your data to the police unless you block it in court within the next seven days. Or imagine someone commits a crime while carrying your cell phone with them. Police then acquire data from Google about your phone’s location and arrest you for six days, costing you your job. Or imagine the police have recorded your home through video surveillance for almost eighteen months. All three are real life  scenarios that illustrate a modern problem: new police technology has the potential to encroach on personal privacy.”).