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CELL PHONE OR FACTORY INSTALL GPS COULD RUIN YOU!
DIR By: Road2HardCoreIron
Date: February 18, 2023, 5:57 pm
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I always tell friends. If there is anything in your life you
don't want to come back at you. Leave cellphones and your
personal vehicles with factory installed GPS away from you.
Your bank accounts, salary, type of vehicle you drive is also
collected evidence.
The Importance of Subpoenaing Cell Phone GPS-Data Records in
California Criminal Cases
Search For Legal Articles
In certain criminal cases, whether you are the defense attorney
or even the defendant, the difference between a “guilty” or “not
guilty” verdict may depend on you proving where the defendant,
the alleged victim or the key prosecution witness was located at
the time of the alleged crime. Perhaps the best way to do this
is by introducing as evidence certain cell phone GPS data that
establishes his or her location at that particular time. The
purpose of such evidence is to provide an alibi or to impeach
the alleged victim or witness. For example, if you can prove
that the main witness against you was nowhere near the scene of
the alleged crime as he or she claimed, then you can effectively
nullify his or her entire testimony, and thereby seriously
weaken the prosecution’s case.
In any California state criminal case, as a matter of law, and
as part of what is called the “discovery” process in a criminal
case, prosecutors are required to turn over to defense counsel
any and all potentially exculpatory evidence. This is any type
of evidence (including documents, photographs, videos or witness
statements) that could either support the defendant’s defense or
otherwise weaken the prosecution’s case. However, since cell
phone records are typically not in the custody, control or
possession of the prosecutor, defense counsel must subpoena
these documents directly from the cell phone company.
It is first important to understand exactly how the cell phone
owner’s location is determined. When you make a call from a cell
phone, your cell phone will emit radio signals that bounce off
local cell towers. This is known as “multi-lateration”. As a
result, the location coordinates of your cell phone can be
identified at any particular time you are either calling.
The District Attorney’s Office or City Attorney’s Office will be
required to provide defense counsel with the information you
will need to subpoena these records – specifically, the alleged
victim’s or other user’s cell phone number. Otherwise, this
information will be contained in the police report. You can then
Google that phone number to identify the specific cell phone
carrier.
Once you have identified the carrier, then serve the company’s
Custodian of Records with an “ORDER TO ATTEND COURT OR PROVIDE
DOCUMENTS: Subpoena/Subpoena Duces Tecum (Criminal and
Juvenile)”, also known as Judicial Council of California form
CR-125/JV-525).
You should give yourself at least a 60-day lead time to obtain
the records from the carrier before your preliminary hearing or
the trial itself. But here’s the big (and expensive) catch: the
documents identifying the location of the alleged victim or
prosecution witness will be highly technical. Therefore, you
will require the services of an expert witness who specializes
in interpreting cell phone and GPS data. Fortunately, a
competent, knowledgeable, and experienced expert should be able
to interpret that data to the jury in a clear and irrefutable
manner. Once you can place the defendant, the alleged victim or
witness far away from the alleged crime scene, the District
Attorney’s entire case will collapse.
I have used this methodology to exonerate a number of my own
clients, but my favorite example is that of Mr. Corey Stewart.
On February 27, 2013, Corey was arrested by the Gardena Police
Department after a Hawthorne woman claimed he had forcibly raped
her at gunpoint on a side street inside his vehicle. The Los
Angeles County District Attorney’s Office charged Corey with
Rape with Force. If convicted, Corey would have almost certainly
have received a life sentence. Corey’s face and name were
splashed all over the local evening news and front pages of the
local papers. The media even shamelessly and salaciously labeled
him “the South Bay Rapist”.
Needless to say, Corey’s life was (temporarily) destroyed. He
hired me after spending 14 months in jail, during which time the
alleged victim repeated her allegations to the police and
prosecutor over multiple interviews. From day one, he insisted
on his innocence and refused to consider any plea offers from
the D.A.’s Office. He was also adamant that he had never been to
the side street in question, but rather, that he had consensual
sex with the accuser in a motel. I never had any doubt that he
was telling the truth and that he was innocent.
I immediately commenced a thorough and intensive investigation
of the allegations with the help of one of my top private
investigators. It soon became evident that the alleged victim
was actually a “con woman” who scammed multiple men out of money
based on her false claims. In addition, neither the police nor
the Assistant D.A. prosecuting the case could produce any
evidence whatsoever (including from traffic cams, ATM cameras,
or any other video footage) that Corey had visited the side
street on the day in question. Nor could they prove the
existence of any such SUV or firearm. Other evidence I uncovered
directly refuted the woman’s allegations and overwhelmingly
supported Corey’s version of the events at issue.
But it was only when I subpoenaed the alleged victim’s cell
phone records that both the police and prosecutor knew she had
been lying to them all along. With the help of my expert
witness, I was able to prove to them that Corey had been nowhere
near that side street on that day. Armed with this irrefutable
evidence, the police detectives re-interviewed the woman. She
then provided them with an entirely different story that, of
course, made absolutely no sense whatsoever. There was no doubt
that she had been lying to them all along.
Only days after this final interview, on June 4, 2014 (which was
the first day of our jury trial), the D.A.’s Office dismissed
the case by dropping all charges. After spending 15 months in
custody, Corey walked out of jail a free man. Fortunately, this
story had a happy ending: Corey was able to put his life back
together, found a good career, and became happily married. I am
honored that he credits me for saving his life, but without the
cell phone records, it would have come down to his word against
hers. (You can watch a video about Corey’s ordeal on my
website.)
The Role of Cell Phone Location Forensics in Criminal Cases
Thousands of new criminal cases take place every year where the
location of a cell phone is of critical importance and the
activity of a person holding a cell phone can be the deciding
factor in a case. From drug overdose fatalities and homicides,
to terroristic acts, bomb threats, carjacking, and other major
crimes, phone records are a common and reliable source of
evidence. Given the connected world we live in, people may not
be aware of the fact that everything they do, and nearly
everywhere they go, their phones or devices can potentially
track it.
For instance, in less than a week after protestors rallied
around and inside our nation’s Capital, more than 100,000
sources of digital evidence had been received for review by
authorities.1 Given this data-driven environment and the
abundance of devices people use, examining cell phone location
evidence and data pulled from Call Detail Records (CDRs), one
can easily learn about a person’s digital history and
whereabouts.
How does it work?
Wireless or cellular networks are made up of tens of thousands
of cell towers. Cell towers, or cell sites, are installed by
wireless phone companies with the goal of providing seamless
cellular coverage to cell phone users. These cell towers house a
varying number of antennas emitting radio signals in different
directions, installed in fixed locations virtually anywhere.
In order to make a phone call or send a text message, the cell
phone must be within the radio range or coverage area of a cell
tower. Every time a cell phone is used to place a call or text,
the cell tower that the phone connects to records data in the
phone carrier’s database. The information gathered from the
wireless carrier’s network equipment can then be used to
determine the general location of where a phone call or text
message was placed, the date and time of the call or text, the
called numbers, the duration of phone calls, and the latitude
and longitude of the tower’s location.
It sounds simple enough, but it’s actually quite complicated. In
fact, it is very easy to misinterpret this type of data and in
some cases, put innocent people in jail. Denmark recently freed
32 inmates over flaws in phone geolocation evidence and they
have placed a moratorium on the use of these records at trial.2
How is this data used to determine the location of a phone call?
CDRs, or phone records, are produced by wireless carriers, such
as Sprint, Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T, and US Cellular, and though
not publicly produced, they can be obtained through legal
process or upon a user’s request in an effort to uncover further
information. During criminal cases, these records are often
analyzed to determine who was in a certain area at a certain
time.
As an example, an armed robbery took place in a major city and a
young man was arrested and tried for the crime. At his trial, a
digital forensics expert was not consulted to interpret the
location data from the CDRs. The young man was convicted and
sent to prison. Three years later, a digital forensics
investigator at Envista Forensics was consulted. Following
further investigation, our Envista Forensics expert determined
that the phone records unequivocally proved that the young man
could not have been at that location at the time of the armed
robbery. After some diligent work by the public defender, the
young man was released from prison and all charges were dropped.
Can a cell site analysis provide a pinpoint location?
Cellular networks are designed to provide and maintain
consistent coverage across large geographic areas, which allows
legal or government authorities to obtain the general location
of where a cell phone call or text message was placed. When
properly analyzed, CDRs can not only determine the city and
state of a cell phone call or text message but it is even
possible to determine what side of town the transaction occurred
and in some cases, specific areas of a town (i.e. neighborhoods,
business districts, shopping districts, etc.).
There are several factors that play into how accurate a location
can be determined when the analysis is based solely on CDRs,
such as density of network towers, subscriber usage, and
geographic location. One factor is simply the popularity of the
carrier. We’ve all seen the television commercials about how
much coverage each wireless company has and why you should
choose that particular company for your wireless phone service.
The coverage a carrier has is based on the density of cell
towers, which makes a big difference in how accurately the
location of a phone can be determined from phone records. For
example, there are numerous cell towers in the different
boroughs of New York City, which means that the location of a
phone in the Bronx could be narrowed down to a city block or two
depending on the wireless company and their coverage.
The Importance of a Cell Phone Location Expert
It is critical that an experienced and competent expert is
consulted for CDR evidence during a criminal case. If an expert
is not thoroughly trained and experienced in analyzing these
types of records, it can be very easy to make mistakes. This is,
again, the reason many cases have been overturned.
Through examination of cell phone location evidence and data
pulled from CDRs, a person’s digital history and whereabouts can
be quickly determined. In a world filled with technology at our
fingertips, call detail record analysis for location forensics
is often vital evidence in criminal cases and can ultimately be
the deciding factor in the outcome of the case.
Sources:
Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of
this publication at the time it was written. It is not intended
to provide legal advice or suggest a guaranteed outcome as
individual situations will differ and the law may have changed
since publication. Readers considering legal action should
consult with an experienced lawyer to understand current laws
and.how they may affect a case. For specific technical or legal
advice on the information provided and related topics, please
contact the author.
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