Geofence Warrants – Be Specific in Time, Location and Scope of What You’re Seeking

• Search warrant probable cause, overbreadth and particularity requirements  
• Search warrant traversals 
• Good faith 
• California’s Electronic Communications Privacy Act (CalEPA) 

To be lawful, search warrants must establish probable cause for the requested search while not being overly broad. A warrant must also be particular in time, location and scope. To survive a motion to traverse, a warrant affidavit must not include any material falsehoods or make any material omissions.  

Absent some reason for an investigator to believe a geofence warrant is invalid, good faith will generally allow for the admission in court of the resulting evidence even if the warrant is legally deficient.  

The California Electronic Communications Privacy Act (CalECPA) applies to geofence warrants. Pursuant to CalECPA, notice of the existence of a geofence warrant must be provided to the target of an investigation. Notice may be delayed where such notice would have an adverse result upon a continuing investigation. Failure to seek extensions of such notice may be excused, however, where it is apparent that the magistrate would have granted such a request.  

On Oct. 29, 2019, Jovany R. was home with his brother, Samuel R., and a friend in Jarupa Valley, Riverside County, when someone rang the front doorbell. Jovany R. answered the door, went outside and spoke with the person on the front porch. When he came back inside, he said the person claimed to be having car problems. After retrieving jumper cables and a charging box from his bedroom, Jovany R. went back outside. Samuel R. – concerned about home invasion robberies for reasons explained below – followed him. On the front porch, the brothers were suddenly confronted by two males, at least one of whom was armed with a pistol. One of the males commanded the brothers not to move. Despite the warning, Samuel R. attempted to push Jovany R. back into the house. As he did so, one of the two males shot Jovany R. in the leg, back and head, killing him. Fleeing the scene, at least one of the two males got into a silver vehicle parked nearby. Jovany R. was later determined to be armed himself, but never had the chance to use his ....