Top US court to take up privacy case on cell phone data

Columbia: The US Supreme Court announced Monday that it would consider a sensitive case on privacy rights that will determine the extent of law enforcement access to cell phone location records.

Geolocation data can aid significantly in police investigations but has come under fire as a serious violation of privacy.

Critics hold that police should not be granted access to cell phone location data without a probable cause warrant.

The nation`s highest court agreed to hear the case of Timothy Carpenter, who was convicted of armed robbery in the Detroit area in part based on cell phone location evidence.

Investigators had traced Carpenter`s movements over the course of 127 days using location data.

In his appeal, a circuit court ruled that no warrant was required under the Fourth Amendment, which protects Americans against "unreasonable searches and seizures."

Carpenter`s lawyers, however, took the issue to the nation`s top court.

"Given the increasing use of new forms of electronic surveillance, it`s important now more than ever that the Supreme Court steps in to push back against police overreach and clarify the protections of the Fourth Amendment," said attorney Harold Gurewitz.