Supreme Court to Hear Geofence Warrant Challenge

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a case challenging the constitutionality of geofence warrants, which enable law enforcement to obtain location data from tech companies on individuals near a crime scene during a specific time frame. The dispute centers on a 2019 bank robbery in suburban Richmond, Virginia, where police used such a warrant to identify and arrest suspect Okello Chatrie.

Geofence warrants have become a common tool for investigators, allowing them to request anonymized location histories from services like Google's database, which tracks Android phones and devices with Google apps. In Chatrie's case, a detective obtained a warrant after security footage showed the robber using a cellphone outside the Call Federal Credit Union in Midlothian. The warrant covered a two-hour period in the area, and Google provided data on 19 accounts. Authorities then obtained subscriber information for three of those, including Chatrie, leading to a search of his home. There, officers found demand notes, nearly $100,000 in cash and a 9mm pistol. Chatrie confessed to the robbery and later pleaded guilty, receiving a sentence of nearly 12 years in prison.