StingRay Devices Usher in a New Fourth Amendment Battleground

No police technology is more commonly used — and more shrouded in mystery — than the cell site simulator. Commonly called a StingRay, the device mimics a cellphone tower and electronically forces all cellphones in an area to communicate with it. This communication can reveal critical information to police, including the phone number, the phone’s serial number, and the precise location of a phone inside a building (within an accuracy of six feet). Does the use of a StingRay device constitute a Fourth Amendment search?

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