Seventh Circuit Wrestles with Constitutionality of Warrantless Cell Phone Searches By Brittany Horth – Edited by Charlie Stiernberg United States v. Flores-Lopez, No. 10-3803 (7th Cir. 2012) Slip opinion The Seventh Circuit affirmed the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, which had held that a warrantless search of a cell phone in order to obtain its phone number is permitted under the Fourth Amendment. Judge Posner acknowledged that the issue had implications for computers and other electronics ... Read More...
Archive for the ‘Fourth Amendment’ Category
Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments on GPS Tracking Case By Amara Osisioma – Edited by Andrew Crocker U.S. v. Jones, 10-1259 (2011) Transcript of Oral Arguments On Tuesday, November 8th, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments in U.S. v. Jones to determine whether the police had violated Antoine Jones’ Fourth Amendment rights when they attached a GPS to his car without a warrant and tracked his movements. Though the police initially obtained a warrant for the investigation, it had expired when ... Read More...
By Andrew Crocker AT&T/T-Mobile Merger Blocked by Justice Department The New York Times reports that the Justice Department is seeking to prevent the proposed merger between AT&T and T-Mobile, which are respectively the second and fourth largest mobile carriers in the United States. In a suit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, the Justice Department stated that the merger would “substantially lessen competition” in the wireless marketplace and lead to price increases. According to Bloomberg ... Read More...
District Court Requires Warrant for Cell Phone Location Data By Michael Hoven – Edited by Jonathan Allred In the Matter of an Application of the United States of America for an Order Authorizing the Release of Historical Cell-Site Information, 10-MC-897 (E.D.N.Y. Aug. 22, 2011) Slip opinion The United States District Court of the Eastern District of New York denied the government’s request to order Verizon Wireless to turn over 113 days of customer location data which, according to the government, ... Read More...
By Sonia McNeil Myriad Genetics Appeals Ruling on Patentability of Isolated Genes Myriad Genetics has appealed the Southern District of New York’s ruling in Association for Molecular Pathology v. USPTO. The district court invalidated seven Myriad Genetics patents relating to the human Breast Cancer Susceptibility Genes 1 and 2 (collectively, “BRCA1/2”), finding that the claimed isolated DNA is not markedly different from native DNA as it exists in nature and therefore constituted unpatentable subject matter under 35 U.S.C. § 101. ... Read More...
