Carpenter v. the United States Analysis Essay

Carpenter v. the United States
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation
Carpenter v. United States
The bill of rights accords every American an opportunity to enjoy some privileges and liberties. In the Fourth Amendment, such privileges and liberties extend to the right to privacy. Americans are protected from some elements of searches or seizures by law enforcement authorities. However, the bill of rights intent limitations on the privileges Americans can enjoy as far as their rights are concerned. Some of such limitations have allowed law enforcers to indulge in behaviors that imply contraventions of the bill of rights. Carpenter v. the United States is among the cases that set precedence while understanding the scope of the Fourth Amendment. The Supreme Court ruling in Carpenter v. United States in understanding elements of the Fourth Amendment inputs on privacy in elements like the origins and importance of probable cause and the use of cell site location information (C.S.L.I.) and the validity of warrantless search and seizure of cell phone records.
Case Brief
The Carpenter v. the United States is a monumental case concluded in the U.S. Supreme Court whose implications can be vital in adhering to Fourth Amendment inputs. Some of the key elements of the case can be discussed as follows:
Technical Background
The issue in the case was whether cell-site location information (C.S.L.I.) could be accessed without a warrant by law enforcement agencies. C.S.L.I. is the location information when cell phones communicate with the cell towers. Such data can be generated through intentional user actions, such as turning on the phone, sending a text message, or making a phone call (Funk, 2020). Any of the above activities automatically triggers a connection between the cell tower and the phone. If the connection is stronger due to more cell towers in one location, it becomes easier for mobile cell companies to locate individuals precisely. That explains why it is easier to locate individuals in urban centers than in rural centers. For business purposes, cell phone service providers keep the C.S.L.I. information. The same information can be employed to reconstruct individual movements within specific time frames.
Factual Background
Four men were arrested and charged with robberies at T-Mobile and Radio Shack in April 2011. One of the arrested individuals confessed the group's responsibility for the robberies and indicated that more people were involved in the ordeals (Funk, 2020). He gave the F.B.I. the personal cell phone numbers of other conspirators. The F.B.I. applied 2703(d) orders to produce transactional phone records, including Carpenter’s.
Rule of Law
The Stored Communications Act (S.C.A.) protects individuals from the content of non-content information and stored communications. However, orders made under Section 230(d) can compel the production of non-content information when facts show that there are reasons to believe that contents of wire or electronic communication are relevant and bear material support to an ongoing criminal investigation (Funk, 2020). The standard of suspicion, in this case, is considerably lower than the threshold required for a typical warrant. The legal challenge ...