Delivering the judgement in a court case filed by a Florida citizen, Quartavious Davis, the Judge Frank Hull upheld the 9-2 jury verdict (PDF) in favour of the prosecution. The 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals said that the records of towers that a mobile phone uses to make calls are considered “business records” maintained by a “third party” and are not protected by the Fourth Amendment. The ruling means that the government and the police/investigating authorities can obtain these records without a warrant. Davis was sentenced to life imprisonment for robbery based on his cell site records. He had approached sessions court claiming that the cell sites records produced by the prosecution violated his freedom granted under the Fourth Amendment.
