Overview
- The unanimous decision finds police violated constitutional protections by using an emergency phone-location request without a warrant in 2022.
- Investigators used Verizon’s exigent protocol to ping Logan Clegg’s phone, which led to his arrest in Burlington, Vermont, in October 2022.
- Justices said anticipated carrier delays did not justify bypassing a warrant and noted police could seek a warrant and then use Verizon’s exigency hotline to expedite access.
- The case is remanded for the trial court to decide if the challenged evidence is admissible under inevitable discovery, with a ruling due by June.
- Clegg was convicted of second-degree murder in the killings of Steve and Wendy Reid and received a lengthy prison sentence, and the new ruling does not automatically overturn his conviction.