Chatrie v. US: Geofencing

The case asks the Court whether the collection of location data through geofencing constitutes a violation of search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment — specifically, whether a warrant directing a third-party provider to disclose location history for all devices near a crime scene during a limited time window amounts to an unreasonable search. While the district court originally ruled that the geofence warrant violated the Constitution, the Fourth Circuit, sitting en banc, split 7–7 on whether a search had occurred at all — a division that reflects how unresolved this area of law remains. The ruling will set a nationwide standard for a surveillance technique that law enforcement uses routinely.