The Committee for Justice applauds the  Supreme Court's decision,  announced  Monday, to review the Sixth Circuit's ruling in  United States v. Carpenter . 

"This case provides the Court with a much-needed opportunity to ensure that the principles behind our constitutional right to privacy are preserved in the digital age, as rapid technological advancements challenge courts' ability to apply older Fourth Amendment principles and precedents," said Committee for Justice (CFJ) president Curt Levey.

Ashley Baker, Director of Public Policy at CFJ, explained, "The central question in  Carpenter  is whether law enforcement agencies can use the third-party doctrine, an exception to Fourth Amendment guarantees, and the lower standards of the  Stored Communications Act  (SCA) to access location records from an individual's cell phone provider -  effectively turning that individual's cell phone into a tracking device  - without first having to obtain a search warrant.  The Court's decision will undoubtedly also have ramifications for other types of technology, such as the privacy of data conveyed to internet service providers (ISPs) or shared through the Internet of Things (IoT)... "

Last Wednesday, the Senate Intelligence Committee convened a hearing on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, key portions of which are set to expire at the end of this year. Among them is section 702, which authorizes the government to collect the communications of non-US citizens abroad that pass through US communications infrastructure without a warrant. Section 702 is controversial, however, because while the provision is aimed at foreigners, it nevertheless enables the warrantless collection of both foreign and US internet communications due to the way the internet is architected and the difficulties associated with disentangling target communications from those that are "incidentally" collected...

... The Intelligence Committee was forceful in asserting that it would pursue answers to its questions regarding Trump's conduct vis-a-vis the FBI investigation. It should be equally forceful in demanding answers regarding the scope of Ssection 702 surveillance - answers that it needs in order to do its job properly and ensure that Americans' Fourth Amendment rights are protected...

At the Republican National Lawyers Association's annual policy conference, Curt Levey spoke about the federal judicial confirmation process and how it changed with President Trump's nomination of Neil Gorsuch to be a Supreme Court justice.