To locate bank robber, FBI unusually asked for warrant to use stingray
Newly uncovered court documents in a federal armed New Jersey bank robbery case that went to trial in late February 2015 reveal an unusual back-and-forth between authorities and judges - ultimately resulting in the FBI seeking and getting a warrant to use a stingray. The move illustrates a rare known instance where authorities met the probable cause hurdle need for a warrant in a stingray deployment.
In 2012, federal prosecutors went to a judge to ask for a "pen/trap order," a lower type of permission than a warrant. Such an order would have effectively authorized the use of a stingray. But the judge pushed back and imposed usage restrictions "in a private place." In January 2015, two United States senators made public the FBI's position that the agency could use stingrays in public places without a warrant.
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