U.S. Supreme Court Rules Geofence Warrants Are Fourth Amendment Searches

The justices ruled that obtaining cellphone location data through a geofence warrant constitutes a Fourth Amendment search, sending the case back to a lower court for further review.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that law enforcement’s use of a geofence warrant to obtain cellphone location data is a search under the Fourth Amendment, marking a major decision on digital privacy in the modern era.

In a 6-3 ruling in Chatrie v. United States, the court held that obtaining location history from a geofence warrant impli…