Maryland Appeals Court Issues Opinion In Stingray Case

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A major blow to law enforcement. One of Maryland's highest courts says police must obtain a warrant in order to use certain technology that tracks your cell phone.

It's been a hot topic nationwide--one that's stirred up plenty of controversy.

Rick Ritter breaks down the court's opinion.

Some say it's a major blow to law enforcement and will tie up investigations; others feel it gives citizens a sense of privacy many never knew was at risk.

A phone call or even a simple text message, our cell phones can easily be tracked by police--without a search warrant--until now.

"Police should not be able to turn our phones into tracking devices without getting a warrant from the judge," said Nathan Wessler, staff attorney, ACLU.

That's exactly what Maryland's Court of Special Appeals released in its opinion Wednesday, saying people have a "reasonable expectation" that their cell phones won't be used as real-time tracking devices by police--adding the "use of cell site simulators" now "requires a search warrant."

"Cell phone location information can reveal some of the most private and sensitive parts of our lives," said Wessler.

A decision Nathan Wessler and the ACLU have been pleading for.

"It's really crucial that courts set the right standard and require police to get a warrant," said Wessler.

Baltimore City police have relied on the stingray-like technology more than 4,000 times since 2007--all to track cell phones.

Cell site simulators, like stingray, pretend to be a cell tower and track phones in real-time.

Doug Ward with the Johns Hopkins School of Education admits it's a valuable tool for police.

"It will become more difficult for investigators, there's no doubt about it," said Ward.

But calls the court's opinion a reasonable solution for both police and the public.

"That's a legal standard, I think, that will make this more transparent and bring this out of the secrecy that it's been in," said Ward.

Surrounding an issue that's still at hand nationwide.

In a separate case in federal court, a group of judges are weighing in on whether police need warrants to obtain cell phone data from wireless providers. It's a case many believe could end up in the Supreme Court.

Wednesday's opinion comes after Baltimore police used the stingray device in an attempted murder case. Evidence collected using it now must be excluded.