ACLU: “reasonable suspicion” not good enough for GPS tracking
ARS TECHNICA
Cyrus Farivar | July 17, 2012
If you’re a student of the privacy and tech law worlds (or you just read Ars) then you’re probably familiar with last year’s Supreme Court decision, Jones v. United States. Earlier this year, the nine justices unanimously agreed that placing a GPS tracking device on a suspect’s car without a warrant was unconstitutional. That decision continues to have ripple effects throughout the privacy law world, and likely will for years to come.
However, as we pointed out in our January 2012 coverage, the justices disagreed amongst themselves about why it violated the Fourth Amendment, which protects citizens against unreasonable searches and seizures. One wing of the court found that installing the GPS device was an unwarranted physical trespass on private property and therefore illegal. The minority wing found the practice unconstitutional as it violated the doctrine known as “a reasonable expectation of privacy.”
Related article:
It’s legal: cops seize cell phone, impersonate owner
(Arc Technica | Timothy B. Lee | July 19, 2012)
Tags: Fourth Amendment, GPS, law enforcement, Privacy