Case Summaries: Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (Feb. 2022)

This post summarized published criminal and related decisions released by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals during February 2022. Decisions that may be of interest to state practitioners are summarized monthly. Previous Fourth Circuit case summaries are available here. Exigent circumstances supported warrantless acquisition of cell phone location and call log data U.S. v. Hobbs, 24 F.4th 965 (Feb. 1, 2022). In this case from the District of Maryland, the defendant broke into his ex-girlfriend’s home, threatened her with a firearm, and took a television. He also threatened to kill the woman, her child, other family members, and any police officers who may be alerted. When the victim reported the incident to law enforcement, she recounted that the defendant was “obsessed” with guns and had possessed assault rifles in the past. She was aware of the defendant’s violent criminal history, which included robbery and attempted murder convictions. She also provided the defendant’s cell phone number. A detective submitted an “exigent form” to a cell phone provider seeking to locate the defendant by way of pinging the phone and to access the phone’s call log. The form noted that the defendant was suspected of threatening the victim with a gun and that he had stated that he would not surrender peacefully. Police were able to locate the defendant with the information from the cell phone company and eventually arrested him, finding a loaded firearm in his vehicle. He was charged with felon in possession and moved to suppress the cell phone evidence. [...]