federal appeals court in New Orleans

The Supreme Court ruled that police cannot freely access cellphone location history, stating constitutional privacy protections apply to such data. The decision involved Okello Chatrie, a bank robber whose identity was uncovered via a geofence warrant, with Justice Elena Kagan emphasizing that users retain privacy expectations even when sharing location data with Google. Justice Samuel Alito dissented, arguing Chatrie had no privacy claim for information voluntarily given to Google.

The Supreme Court ruled that constitutional privacy protections apply to cellphone location data, citing a case where a geofence warrant led to a bank robber's identification. The 6-3 decision, with Justice Kagan's majority opinion and Justice Alito's dissent, addresses privacy expectations in digital age technologies, sending the case back for further proceedings.

The Supreme Court ruled that states can count mailed ballots arriving after Election Day if postmarked by Election Day, rejecting a Republican-led challenge. The decision preserves laws in over half the states and the District of Columbia, avoiding last-minute changes to ballot rules before the 2026 midterms. The case originated in Mississippi, where a federal appeals court had previously struck down a law allowing ballots to arrive within five business days of the election.