Cell Phone Location Data and the Fourth Amendment: a Question of Law, Not Fact

In a significant ruling in the fall of 2010, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the government’s claim that it could compel cell phone service providers to disclose customer records that indicate the cell towers with which a cell phone has communicated (cell phone location information or CSLI) without obtaining a warrant based on probable cause. In a break with past decisions, the court rejected application of a “third party rule,” under which cell phone users are seen to assume the risk that their providers will disclose location data without the protections of a warrant requirement. The court, however, remanded the case to the magistrate judge to determine whether a warrant is required, and explained that it is a question of fact whether acquisition of location data intrudes upon reasonable expectations of privacy. In this article, I argue that the question is instead one of law; courts should require a warrant for access to location data in all cases because such acquisition is a search under the Fourth Amendment. I address three factors that have impeded proper resolution of the constitutional question: 1) a lack of understanding of the power of cell phone location information to provide a detailed portrait of subjects’ private lives, 2) an unduly constrained application of the Knotts and Karo precedents concerning use of radio tracking beepers, and 3) the appeal of analytical short cuts such as an inappropriate extension of the Miller v. United States and Smith v. Maryland cases to cover location data. A full understanding of the power of the technology and a proper application of the constitutional precedents yields the conclusion that compelled acquisition of cell location data requires a warrant based on probable cause and may not be acquired on the lesser authority of a court order based on mere relevance

Revolving Green Loan Funds and Implementation at SIUC

Over the past few years revolving green loan funds have been implemented at about fifty schools all across the country to help fund sustainability projects on their campus. These green revolving funds are used to invest in sustainability projects that lower operating expenses, for example, energy bills. The savings that these projects produce then get sent back to the fund and are reinvested in additional projects. These loan funds have been incredibly helpful in furthering the sustainability goals of colleges, while also helping to save the universities money. My research included looking into how other universities are implementing these revolving loan funds, with a focus on universities in our peer group, to determine how Southern Illinois University can best implement one of these funds on our campus. I also spoke to stakeholders on campus to find out their ideas or opinions on the fund. Finally, I looked at examples of projects other universities have funded to gain insight on the best kinds of projects to fund in the future at SIU, once the loan fund is implemented. The goal of my research is to educate others on campus green loan funds and sustainability projects and to do everything possible to get a loan fund implemented on our campus

Combining Stationary Ocean Models and Mean Dynamic Topography Data

In this study, a new estimate for the Mean Dynamic Topography (MDT) and its error description is analysed in terms of its impact on the performance of ocean models. For the first time, a full MDT error covariance matrix is available whose inverse can readily be used as weighting matrix in the optimization. Two different steady-state inverse ocean models are analysed in terms of their response to the new MDT data set. The output of each of these ocean models in turn provides a combined satellite-ocean model MDT. This study investigates whether the inverse ocean models benefit from the new MDT data set and its error covariance. It is examined whether oceanographic features such as the ocean current structure, the overturning circulation and heat transports are improved by the assimilated MDT data set. Special focus is given to the MDT error covariance estimate as it is crucial in the optimization

Love The Shape You\u27re In

pages 27-3

The Wright Lawsuit

While the flights of the Wright brothers over a century ago have enshrined their names in aeronautical history, only slightly less important are the lawsuits brought forth by the brothers in defense of their invention. From 1906 to 1917 the Wright brothers maintained a successful stranglehold on the development and production of the airplane in the United States. This paper examines that history, the ensuing litigation, and the impact that the Wright brothers actions had upon the readiness of the U.S. in World War I