cnet:

Federal court OKs warrantless cellphone tracking by police

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit yesterday ruled that law enforcement officials were within their legal right to track Melvin Skinner, an alleged drug trafficker, through his cell phone before his arrest in 2006. According to court documents, law enforcement officials were able to use the GPS feature on Skinner’s cell phones to track his whereabouts and eventually arrest him. According to the court, Skinner was convicted of two counts of drug trafficking and another of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Soon after, he appealed the conviction, saying that it violated his Fourth Amendment rights, protecting citizens against unreasonable search and seizure. Judge Rogers, one of the two judges in the three-judge panel to rule in favor of the decision, disagreed with Skinner’s argument.

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