How to Obtain Phone Records with a Warrant
Phone records are considered private information. Phone companies cannot release a land-line or mobile subscriber's records to a third party without the customer's authorization or a warrant from a court. Courts issue warrants to law enforcement officials with probable cause. Court orders are issued as part of discovery in a civil case. However, judges usually order the defendants to obtain and hand over phone records, rather than ordering phone companies to hand them directly to third parties, such as plaintiff.
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Instructions
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Ask your department supervisor or district attorney to draft a search warrant in keeping with your jurisdiction's requirements, if you are a law enforcement official. Most law enforcement agencies have search warrant templates or forms that officers can simply complete.
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Present your search warrant to any judge in your jurisdiction for signature. The judge does not have to be in a court session or even at work. Officials often seek judges at home and after hours in case of emergency. Many law enforcement agencies have "on-call" arrangements with judges so that they know which justice to bother on which days.
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Argue your case for probable cause to the judge. Federal court rulings have put increasing burden on law enforcement officials to provide proof of probable cause before they are allowed to access cell phone records--particularly records that identify a person's location. Expect to defend why an invasion of privacy would be in the public interest.
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Direct your attorney to file a petition for the release of phone records with the court as part of discovery in a civil suit. Your attorney will need to make compelling arguments as to why the judge should order the phone company to release the records rather than ordering the other party to do so.
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Present your warrant or court order to a manager at the phone company in question. Because the phone company will probably want to verify the warrant or order before complying, go in person to a phone company office--ideally, a main or regional office where higher-level managers will be available.
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References
- Photo Credit telephone image by ISABELLE.ESSELIN from Fotolia.com
