Supreme Court to Decide Whether ‘Geofence’ Warrants May Be Used in Criminal Trials

A divided federal appeals panel found that because the petitioner voluntarily allowed location tracking on his cellphone, the Fourth Amendment did not apply.

The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on Jan. 5, 2026. Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether search warrants that collect the location history of cellphone users near crime scenes are constitutional.

The high court granted the petition in Chatrie v. United States in an unsigned order issued on Jan. 16. No justices dissented. The court did not explain its decision.