Local Law Blogs

The New Hampshire Supreme Court recently held that a defendant in a criminal case did "not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in information concerning  his cellular telephone calls that was recorded for billing purposes and retained by U.S. Cellular in the ordinary course of its business."  You may read the text of this decision by clicking here - State v. Gubitosi (2005).   

The Court distinguished one of its previous decisions which held that there is a reasonable expectation of privacy in the contents of bags of garbage left by the roadside for collection.  In essence, the Court reasoned that with cellular phone records, the defendant never had them in his possession and that he voluntarily conveyed the information to the cell phone service.  With garbage, a person does have it in his/her possession, and because it is bagged when placed for collection, he/she does not voluntarily convey anything about what is inside the bags.