Alito says Carpenter threatens legitimate investigative practices despite its concern for privacy
Samuel AlitoAssociate justice of the United States Supreme Court
Alito says Carpenter threatens legitimate investigative practices despite its concern for privacy.
“I share the Court’s concern about the effect of new technology on personal privacy, but I fear that today’s decision will do far more harm than good. The Court’s reasoning fractures two fundamental pillars of Fourth Amendment law, and in doing so, it guarantees a blizzard of litigation while threatening many legitimate and valuable investigative practices upon which law enforcement has rightfully come to rely.”
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Where this statement fits
Carpenter: Roberts and Kennedy split over police access to cellphone location records
In June 2018, the Supreme Court ruled five to four that obtaining Timothy Carpenter's historical cellphone location records was a search and generally required a warrant. Chief Justice John Roberts stressed the reach of location surveillance. Justice Anthony Kennedy dissented, arguing that the government obtained the carriers' business records rather than searching Carpenter's property.
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Original text
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The Supreme Court's 5-4 decision of June 22, 2018, written by Chief Justice Roberts, holding that the government's acquisition of historical cell-site location records from wireless carriers was a Fourth Amendment search that generally requires a warrant. The Court said individuals have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the whole of their physical movements, called its decision narrow, and said it did not call into question conventional surveillance techniques and tools such as security cameras. It does not address license-plate readers.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Alito's dissent begins by acknowledging concern about technology's effects on privacy.
After the quotation
He argues that compelled production of third-party records differs from an actual search and favors legislative privacy protections.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Relative to police obtaining historical cellphone location records without a probable-cause warrant, Alito defends access through court orders and subpoenas. He calls imposing the new warrant requirement a serious mistake and warns that it threatens legitimate investigations.
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More from this case
Read the full caseKerr rejects Carpenter's privacy holding but says a warrant rule largely follows if that holding is accepted
“I think Carpenter’s search holding is wrong. In my view, users don’t have Fourth Amendment rights in their historical cell-site records. But if you accept that erroneous holding as correct, and you then need to figure out what the reasonableness standard is for compelling access, I think something like the majority’s rule, in which the target is still ultimately protected by the same protections that would apply if the information were locally stored, is probably right.”Read statement
Wessler rejects the claim that using technology removes Fourth Amendment protection
“The government can no longer claim that the mere act of using technology eliminates the Fourth Amendment’s protections.”Read statement
Crocker and Lynch urge warrants for all cellphone tracking
“We think the right rule is to require a warrant for any cell phone tracking”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "Alito says Carpenter threatens legitimate investigative practices despite its concern for privacy". First published: 2026-10-24. Last updated: 2026-10-24. https://disputeindex.com/events/6629-alito-says-carpenter-threatens-legitimate-investigative-practices-despit