Last week, the Supreme Court published its long-awaited opinion in Carpenter v. United States. The case involved whether the government needed a warrant to obtain “cell-site records” from individuals’ cellphone carriers. Such records locate a person’s general whereabouts based on the communication between a particular phone and the towers through which those phones get service. In this instance, those records helped to show a defendant’s (Timothy Carpenter) proximity to a robbery, thus aiding in securing his conviction.

In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court required the government to get a warrant in order to obtain these records. To make this decision, the justices confronted dueling claims: an individual right and a government obligation.