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Use of Controversial Phone-Cracking Tool Is Spreading Across Federal Government
Loaded on May 15, 2022
by Mara Hvistendahl, Sam Biddle
published in Criminal Legal News
June, 2022, page 20
Filed under:
Cell Phone Access,
Police State-Surveillance,
Searches - Cellphones/Computers/Internet.
Locations:
Israel,
United States of America.
Cellebrite’s extensive federal sales come as another Israeli phone-spying firm, NSO Group, falls under federal sanctions.
by Mara Hvistendahl, Sam Biddle, The Intercept
Investigators with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service frequently work to thwart a variety of environmental offenses, from illegal deforestation to hunting without a …
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More from this issue:
- A House Built on Discriminatory Sand, by Anthony Accurso
- Jury Nullification: The People’s Tool Against Bad Laws and Bad Legal Actors, by J.D. Schmidt
- New RECOVER Fingerprint Technology Used to Solve 1983 Cold Case, by Casey Bastian
- Federal Habeas Corpus: Post-Filing Procedures in Seeking Habeas Relief, by Dale Chappell
- Excited Delirium—the Diagnosis That Doesn’t Exist, by Brooke Kaufman
- New York Court of Appeals: Frye Hearing Required to Determine Admissibility of DNA Evidence Generated by Proprietary Forensic Statistical Tool, by Douglas Ankney
- Use of Controversial Phone-Cracking Tool Is Spreading Across Federal Government, by Mara Hvistendahl, Sam Biddle
- California Court of Appeal: Trial Court Must Receive Parole Agency’s Written Report Before Ruling on Parole Revocation Petition for Lifetime Parolee Despite Remand to Prison Being Mandatory, by Douglas Ankney
- Michigan Supreme Court: IAC Where Defense Counsel Failed to Request Instruction on Defense-of-Others for Nonassaultive Offense of Home Invasion, Orders New Trial, by David Reutter
- West Virginia Supreme Court: Defendant Who Provided False Information to Detective Who Failed to Identify Himself as Police Officer Has No Duty to Cure False Statement Upon Learning Detective Is a Police Officer, by Douglas Ankney
- Maine Now Requires Criminal Conviction Before Property May Be Forfeited, by Douglas Ankney
- Tenth Circuit: Judgment of Conviction Becomes Final for § 2255 SOL Purposes Upon Conclusion of Direct Review of Deferred Restitution, by Douglas Ankney
- New Hampshire Supreme Court: Warrant Required to Enter Walled-In Porch Attached to Mobile Home, by Anthony Accurso
- Second Circuit: Multi-Object Drug Conspiracy Involving Crack and Other Drugs Eligible for First Step Act Relief, by Dale Chappell
- Sixth Circuit: No Abuse of Discretion in U.S. District Courts Imposing Habeas Remedy Different Than That Required Under State Law, by Dale Chappell
- Book Review: ‘The PLRA Handbook: Law and Practice Under the Prison Litigation Reform Act’ by John Boston, by Matthew Clarke
- SCOTUS Announces § 1983 Malicious Prosecution Claim’s ‘Favorable Determination’ Requirement Satisfied by Showing Prosecution Ended Without a Conviction, by Richard Resch
- Minnesota Supreme Court: Depraved-Mind Murder Requires Mental State of Generalized Indifference to Human Life, Which Cannot Exist Where Defendant Kills With Particularity, by Douglas Ankney
- Sixth Circuit: Evidence Withheld by Prosecutor Opens Door for Successive Habeas Petition, by Dale Chappell
- Martinsville Seven Pardoned 70 Years After Execution, by Anthony Accurso
- SCOTUS Adds Extra Obstacle to Federal Habeas Relief for State Prisoners, Ruling Both Brecht and the AEDPA Must Be Satisfied, by Dale Chappell
- Pennsylvania Supreme Court Announces Smell of Marijuana Alone No Longer Establishes Probable Cause to Conduct Warrantless Vehicle Search, by Douglas Ankney
- ABA Says Oregon Needs 1,296 More Public Defenders, by Mark Wilson
- New Yorkers With Criminal Record Struggle for Approval to Rent Homes, by Ashleigh Dye
- Idaho Supreme Court Announces Prospectively Testimony by Drug Recognition Expert Requires State to Comply With Expert Witness Disclosure Requirements of Rule 16(b)(7), by Douglas Ankney
- Filmmaker Got Back His $69,000 ‘Stolen’ by DEA Agent, Plus a $15,000 Settlement, by Harold Hempstead
- California Court of Appeal: Trial Court’s Dismissal of Charge Based on Express Statement of ‘Insufficient Evidence’ Is Equivalent to Acquittal for § 1170.95 Resentencing, by Douglas Ankney
- When Your Criminal Case Is Dropped, But Your Mugshot Lives Forever, by Julie Levitch
- First Study of Police De-Escalation Training Shows Impressive Results, by Douglas Ankney
- Costs of Untested Rape Kits, by Jayson Hawkins
- News in Brief
More from Mara Hvistendahl:
More from Sam Biddle:
More from these topics:
- Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Announces Postconviction Forensic Testing Statute Permits Digital Forensic Analysis of Cellphones, Holding Chapter 278A Not Limited to Tangible Evidence Testable for Biological Material, Aug. 1, 2026. Forensic Sciences, Searches - Cellphones/Computers/Internet, Statutory Construction/Interpretation, Failure to Consult/Investigate/Raise, Relevance.
- Surveillance for Sale: The Data Broker Loophole and the Fourth Amendment After Chatrie, July 1, 2026. Fourth Amendment, rights, Police State-Surveillance, Electronic Surveillance, Federal Funds, Tainted Funds.
- Passive Data Transforms Smart Devices Into Covert Witnesses in a Silent Surveillance State, July 1, 2026. Forensic Sciences, Police State-Surveillance, Searches - Cellphones/Computers/Internet, Electronic Surveillance, Exclusionary Rule.
- Beyond Geofence Warrants: Chatrie, Reverse-Location Surveillance, and the Fourth Amendment Fight Over Digital Dragnets, May 1, 2026. Police State-Surveillance, Cell-Phone Location/Tracking Data, Cell Site Location Information ("CSLI"), Electronic Surveillance.
- Two Texas Women Charged for Using Plastic Crows in Smuggling Scheme, April 1, 2026. Cell Phone Access, Conspiracies, Attempts, Solicitations, Bureau of Prisons (BOP), Methamphetamine, Simple Possession/Personal Use versus Distribution.
- Oregon Supreme Court Announces Article I, Section 9, of State Constitution Protects Privacy in Internet Browsing Conducted Over Public Wi-Fi Networks, April 1, 2026. Searches - Cellphones/Computers/Internet, Warrantless Searches, Electronic Surveillance, State Constitutional Claims, Suppression.
- The “Free Trial” Police State, March 1, 2026. Police State-Surveillance, Enforcement of Immigration Laws, Electronic Surveillance, Privacy Act/Rights, Use of Drones.
- Flock’s Gunshot Sensors Are Expanding to “Distress” Sounds, Feb. 1, 2026. Fourth Amendment, rights, Police State-Surveillance, Electronic Surveillance, Recordings, Privacy Act/Rights.
- How AI Integration Used by Law Enforcement Fails the Public, Feb. 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, False Arrest, Police State-Surveillance, Electronic Surveillance, Evidence - Integrity/Reliability of.
- Modern Drone Surveillance: The Fourth Amendment’s Blind Spot, Feb. 1, 2026. Police State-Surveillance, Use of Drones.





