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Law

ACLU Seeks to Protect Cell Phone Records

The American Civil Liberties Union is taking a stand to protect cell phone records in police investigations.

Gurnal Scott: About 40 North Carolina police agencies responded to the national ACLU's question on how cell phone records were obtained. The ACLU said the responses were inconsistent ranging from getting court orders as a safety net to having no written policy at all. North Carolina ACLU spokesman Mike Meno says the intent is not to hamper how police track suspects.

Mike Meno: But if that is required, why don't they go to a judge and get a warrant the way they do for so many other things? There's a reason we have checks and balances in this country and it's to make sure the government doesn't overstep into the rights of individuals.

The ACLU is supporting legislation in Congress that requires a judge to sign off on information obtained by police from cell phones and GPS devices.

Gurnal Scott joined North Carolina Public Radio in March 2012 after several stops in radio and television. After graduating from the College of Charleston in his South Carolina hometown, he began his career in radio there. He started as a sports reporter at News/Talk Radio WTMA and won five Sportscaster of the Year awards. In 1997, Gurnal moved on to television as general assignment reporter and weekend anchor for WCSC-TV in Charleston. He anchored the market's top-rated weekend newscasts until leaving Charleston for Memphis, TN in 2002. Gurnal worked at WPTY-TV for two years before returning to his roots in radio. He joined the staff of Memphis' NewsRadio 600 WREC in 2004 eventually rising to News Director. In 2006, Raleigh news radio station WPTF came calling and he became the station's chief correspondent. Gurnal’s reporting has been honored by the South Carolina Broadcasters Association, the North Carolina Associated Press, and the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas.
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