Holtz Learning Centers, Ltd., of Woodbine, New Jersey, runs criminal justice and law enforcement training programs for professionals currently working in or pursuing careers in these fields. Founded in 2000 by former police officer and police lawyer Larry Holtz, Holtz Learning Centers serves as a New Jersey Department of Education Professional Development Provider. On the company’s website (www.holtzlearningcenters.com), Larry Holtz keeps visitors abreast of New Jersey State statutes and laws, including the 2013 New Jersey Supreme Court ruling regarding cell phone tracking.
In 2013, the New Jersey Supreme Court declared that law enforcement officers must obtain search warrants before accessing cell phone location information to track individuals. The case of State v. Earls (July 2013) reversed a previous Appellate Division judgment that ruled that citizens were afforded no reasonable expectation of privacy regarding location information transmitted by their cell phones. The justices of the state’s highest court agreed unanimously that Article I, Paragraph 7, of the New Jersey Constitution protects a person’s privacy when it comes to cell phone-transmitted location data, and they remanded the case back to the Appellate Division.
The State v. Earls case involves Thomas Earls, whom police accused of several burglaries in Middletown, New Jersey. Police acquired the location of his cell phone from service provider T-Mobile on three separate occasions, each time without first obtaining a warrant. With this information, they tracked Earls to a motel room and found the stolen goods. Earls argued that he should be afforded a reasonable expectation of privacy in regards to cell phone location data. The ruling marked the first by a state supreme court in regards to protected privacies and cell phone location data.
Holtz Learning Centers's Wordpress Blog 