WASHINGTON – The Office of the Public Defender in Baltimore is reviewing hundreds of criminal cases following an investigation by USA Today that revealed the questionable police practice of tracking the cellphone activity of suspects.
“No stone is going to be left unturned at this point,” Baltimore’s deputy public defender Natalie Finegar told USA Today.
Defense attorneys are taking a close look at nearly 2,000 cases in which police may have used cellphone tracking devices known as “stingrays” to monitor a suspect’s phone activity and pinpoint the person’s location.
The public defender’s office plans to ask that many convictions, possibly hundreds, be thrown out.
According to the USA Today investigation, police in numerous cases never told the suspects or their lawyers that a stingray had been used. Defense attorneys argue that information must be disclosed.
Tammy Brown, a spokesperson for the Baltimore State’s Attorney, told the newspaper that prosecutors would”evaluate each challenge on its own merits.”
