Google Geofence Warrant Ruling Upends NJ Robbery Conviction

A New Jersey man who pleaded guilty to a string of robberies had his conviction vacated after a state appeals court ruled that a Google geofence warrant used to bust him was unconstitutional.

The state's warrant lacked probable cause sufficient to believe Google's servers would contain evidence of the crimes, according to an unauthored opinion from the New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division.

Google's Sensorvault server stores cellphone data, and the court stated that having a cell phone does not establish probable cause to search these records.