Iowa athletes busted for betting take illegal search claims to Eighth Circuit

Twenty-seven current and former Iowa college athletes are asking the Eighth Circuit to revive their lawsuit against state investigators who used geofencing technology to track sports betting app usage near athletic facilities without a warrant. A lower court found the warrantless sweep violated the Fourth Amendment but dismissed the case anyway, ruling the officers were entitled to qualified immunity since the specific technology's unconstitutionality wasn't clearly established.

Attorney James Roberts argued the relevant Supreme Court precedent, Carpenter v. United States, already covers the underlying question of protected location data regardless of the technology used to get it. Judge L. Steven Grasz pushed back, worrying that under that logic the law could never be considered clearly established as technology keeps changing.

Iowa's solicitor general defended the dismissal and separately argued many plaintiffs lack standing because they were using someone else's betting account in violation of the app's terms of service. The investigation had already produced suspensions, lost eligibility, and criminal charges, some of which were later dropped.

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