© 2024 Maine Public | Registered 501(c)(3) EIN: 22-3171529
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Scroll down to see all available streams.

Maine Supreme Court: Cellphone Data Warrant Was Legal

PORTLAND, Maine - Maine's Supreme Court disagrees with a judge who suppressed cellphone data obtained from a warrant.The Supreme Judicial Court on Thursday set aside the judge's decision. The judge had said search warrants weren't supported by probable cause.

Chief Justice Leigh Saufley wrote in a unanimous decision that the search warrant request by detectives investigating burglaries involving multiple convicted criminals was legal.

But she was careful to note that the ruling was limited in scope to the burglary investigation and limited cellphone data. She said the court was not addressing whether judges should assume cellphone evidence exists in all cases involving multiple defendants.