Federal judge tosses drug evidence because DEA didn't get warrant for StingRay cellphone tracking
A federal judge in Manhattan has suppressed narcotics evidence because the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration didn’t get a warrant to use a cellphone tracking device that led them to the suspect’s apartment.
The decision by U.S. District Judge William Pauley appears to be the first time a federal judge has required a warrant for use of a cell-site simulator, which mimics cellphone towers to track suspects’ cellphones, report the New York Law Journal (sub. req.) and the New York Times. The devices go by the names StingRay, Hailstorm and TriggerFish.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration had used the cell-site simulator in a 2015 investigation of international drug trafficking. It obtained a warrant for numbers dialed from a specific cellphone and a record of locations of cellphones that connected to that phone. To home in on the location of the targeted phone, they used the cell-site simulator.
The Justice Department has changed its policy since it used the tracking device in the case before Pauley. Federal agents are now generally required to get a search warrant to use a cell-site simulator.
See also:
ABA Journal: “Police face constitutional challenges for using cellphone tracking devices to locate suspects”
ABAJournal.com: “Cops need warrant before using Stingray devices to track cellphones, Maryland appeals court says”
