WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court held Monday that constitutional privacy protections extend to cellphone location information, ruling in the case of a bank robber whose identity was discovered through a geofence warrant.
Justice Elena Kagan wrote for the 6-3 court that people don’t forfeit expectations of privacy even when they opt into Google’s location history.
“A cellphone user is not to be viewed as sharing private information with third parties—which then can be freely passed on to the government—just by doing the ordinary things cellphone users do,” Kagan wrote.
Justice Samuel Alito wrote in dissent that Okello Chatrie had no expectation of privacy in information he voluntarily turned over to Google.
The decision is the court’s latest effort to apply a constitutional provision ratified in 1791 to technology the nation’s founders could not have envisioned.
Police obtained a geofence warrant after a bank robbery in a suburb of Richmond, Virginia, and used it to locate cellphones that were near the bank around the time it was robbed in May 2019.
One of those phones belonged to Chatrie, who had eluded the police until they turned to the powerful technological tool.
The warrant kick-started the investigation. After determining that Chatrie was among those near the Call Federal Credit Union in Midlothian at the time, police obtained a search warrant for his home. They found nearly $100,000 in cash, including bills wrapped in bands signed by the bank teller.
Chatrie pleaded guilty to robbing the bank and was sentenced to nearly 12 years in prison. His lawyers argued on appeal that none of the evidence should have been used against him.
They challenged the warrant as a violation of his privacy because it allowed authorities to gather the location history of people near the bank without having any evidence they had anything to do with the robbery. Prosecutors argued that Chatrie had no expectation of privacy because he voluntarily opted into Google’s location history.
The Supreme Court did not decide Monday whether the search complied with the Fourth Amendment, which bans unreasonable searches and seizures. It sent the case back to a lower court for more work.
A federal judge had ruled that the search violated Chatrie’s rights, but allowed the evidence to be used because the officer who applied for the warrant reasonably believed he was acting properly.
The federal appeals court in Richmond upheld the conviction in a fractured ruling. In a separate case, the federal appeals court in New Orleans ruled that geofence warrants “are general warrants categorically prohibited by the Fourth Amendment.”
Activists and demonstrators wait outside the Supreme Court for the Justices to release opinions, in Washington, Monday, June 29, 2026. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The NFL's Detroit Lions on Monday released cornerback Terrion Arnold, only days after his arrest over allegations that he orchestrated the abduction and beating of three men who prosecutors believe he wrongly suspected of having stolen luxury goods and $100,000 in cash from him.
The team made the announcement on the X social media platform. The team did not give a reason, but the announcement came the same day that a Florida judge Arnold's bail at $1 million. Prosecutors say the three victims, including a man who worked as a driver for Arnold, were robbed while being held at gunpoint in a Tampa apartment in February.
Prosecutors had wanted Arnold held without bond on the eight felony charges he faces. But Chief Circuit Court Judge Christopher Sabella granted bond to him. He won’t be required to wear an ankle monitor because it would prevent him from taking the field for games and training.
The judge said Arnold already has a “paparazzi monitor,” referring to the photographers who have been watching his movements.
“If he shows up on a beach in Tahiti, he’ll be on social media,” Sabella said at the end of the bond hearing in Tampa.
Sabella said that although the charges are serious — each could bring a life sentence if Arnold is convicted — prosecutors are “not there yet” in having a strong case for Arnold’s guilt.
The judge did order Arnold to remain at his home in Tallahassee except for when he’s playing, training and traveling with the Lions. He also said Arnold cannot have any contact with other people tied to the case and must surrender his passport within 48 hours.
Arnold, 23, was a first-round pick in the 2024 draft after playing at the University of Alabama. He had 31 tackles and an interception last season as part of the Lions’ defense.
According to prosecutors, the victims were abducted three days after cash and luxury items, including Rolex watches and Louis Vuitton bags, were reported stolen from Arnold at an Airbnb rental in the Tampa area. Prosecutors allege that six of Arnold’s associates actually carried out the crimes, holding, beating and pistol-whipping the victims, and that Arnold wasn’t there at the time.
None of Arnold’s co-defendants had bond set for them. Two female co-defendants have pleaded guilty and are cooperating with authorities. Their statements tie Arnold, who was not at the apartment, to the crimes, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors argue that Arnold is as responsible for the crimes as his co-defendants because he told his associates that he thought he knew who had stolen from him and said he wanted to confront them, setting events in motion.
“Our office remains committed to seeking justice for the three victims in the case who were beaten, robbed, and held against their will,” said Erin Maloney, a spokesperson for the state attorney’s office.
But Harvey Steinberg, an attorney for Arnold, argued in court Monday that prosecutors are “not even close” to showing that Arnold that he knew or directed what his associates would do.
Denise White, the CEO of EAG Sports Management, which represents Arnold, said before the Lions announced they were releasing Arnold that the judge’s ruling “confirms that there is very little evidence to even suggest any criminal involvement by Mr. Arnold.”
This story was updated to correct that among the charges Arnold faces are four robbery-related counts, not four assault counts.
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Terrion Arnold, a Detroit Lions cornerback, takes his seat before his pretrial detention hearing at the Hillsborough County Courthouse on Monday, June 29, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (Jefferee Woo/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Friends and family members of Terrion Arnold, a Detroit Lions cornerback, listen in during his pretrial detention hearing iat the Hillsborough County Courthouse on Monday, June 29, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (Jefferee Woo/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Friends and family members of Terrion Arnold, a Detroit Lions cornerback, react, when bond is set for him during his pretrial detention hearing at the Hillsborough County Courthouse on Monday, June 29, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (Jefferee Woo/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Hillsborough County Circuit Court Judge Christopher Sabella presides during a pretrial detention hearing for Terrion Arnold, a Detroit Lions cornerback, at the Hillsborough County Courthouse on Monday, June 29, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (Jefferee Woo/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
Terrion Arnold, a Detroit Lions cornerback, shakes hands with his attorneys R. Timothy Jansen, left, and A.J. Alvarez, during the conclusion of his pretrial detention hearing at the Hillsborough County Courthouse on Monday, June 29, 2026, in Tampa, Fla. (Jefferee Woo/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
