18 U.S.C. § 3117
Section 3117 · Mobile tracking devices
This is § 108 of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 78 court decisions — leading case United States v. Jones (2012)
Most recently applied in United States v. Gloria Taylor (December 2022)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(a) In General.—If a court is empowered to issue a warrant or other order for the installation of a mobile tracking device, such order may authorize the use of that device within the jurisdiction of the court, and outside that jurisdiction if the device is installed in that jurisdiction.
(b) Definition.—As used in this section, the term “tracking device” means an electronic or mechanical device which permits the tracking of the movement of a person or object.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Codification
Another section 3117 was renumbered section 3118 of this title.
Effective Date
Section effective 90 days after Oct. 21, 1986, and, in case of conduct pursuant to court order or extension, applicable only with respect to court orders and extensions made after such date, with special rule for State authorizations of interceptions, see section 111 of Pub. L. 99–508, set out as an Effective Date of 1986 Amendment note under section 2510 of this title.