Supreme Court Tests Whether Location Sweeps Violate Fourth Amendment

The Supreme Court heard arguments April 27 in Chatrie v. United States on whether geofence warrants—orders to collect location data from all devices in a geographic area during a specified time—satisfy the Fourth Amendment's particularity requirement. The case hinges on whether such warrants function as prohibited general warrants. A ruling is expected by late June or July 2026 and will determine the constitutional fate of thousands of prosecutions, including January 6 Capitol cases.