Final answer:
The Supreme Court's decision in Carpenter v. United States relied on United States v. Jones, which established the premise that warrantless GPS tracking is a search under the Fourth Amendment. This precedent was critical in extending similar protections to the collection of cell-site location information, reflecting the adherence to precedent known as stare decisis.
Step-by-step explanation:
In Carpenter v. United States, the Supreme Court relied on previous decisions that established and affirmed the principle of protecting individuals from illegal search and seizure. One such case that the Court relied upon was United States v. Jones (2012), where it was decided that warrantless tracking using a GPS device constituted a search under the Fourth Amendment. The principles established in Jones were extended in Carpenter to include the acquisition of cell-site location information from cellular companies.
The legal principles of stare decisis play a significant role in how the court system operates, especially in the interpretation and application of precedent in future rulings. The Carpenter case was a demonstration of how courts adhere to precedent while also recognizing the evolution in technology and societal norms. As such, prior rulings set a foundation for the protection of privacy that the Court deemed applicable in the digital age.