Ruling on GPS Tracking Devices 180
djembe2k writes "Score one for civil liberties. The NY Times is carrying a wire story (free reg. required, yadda) reporting that the Supreme Court of Washington state ruled today that a warrant is required by police to use GPS tracking devices to track suspects. A warrant actually was obtained in the case at hand, but the prosecutors argued that they hadn't really needed one, and they lost on this point. Here's the full text of the ruling."
Registration NOT required (Score:5, Informative)
No Reg Links (Score:4, Informative)
Honestly people, why keep linking to the "reg required" links?
NYTimes Story [nytimes.com]
Alternate story [charleston.net]
Obviously committed a crime? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Obviously committed a crime? (Score:5, Informative)
I guess she would rather waste tax payers money (Score:1, Informative)
The only thing preventing the police from following someone 24 hours a day for 2 1/2 weeks is the cost. It would be quite expensive to allocate a group of officers for 2 1/2 weeks. Could it be done, sure why not. Its not like its hard to follow a large metal object.
So, instead the police decide to attach an inexpensive gps tracking device to his car which a single officer can review from time to time and have other officers follow up on. If anything this is LESS intrusive since the police are not watching the suspect's moves 24hours a day, they are simply watching where his car goes.
gg judge
Not about them using it (Score:4, Informative)
So there's a murder, a body dumped in the woods. The cop finds out through a GPS device on your car that your vehicle drove from the victims apartment to the woods right after the murder.
Without a warrant to obtain that data, the judge throws this evidence out. Otherwise it would be a violation of your rights. There's very little a cop can do to you without a warrant, they can't step onto your property, peer through your windows to see whats going on.
A more extreme example you'd see on "Law and Order", I suppose.
Potheads who grow their own are paranoid about cops patrolling the neighbourhoods with heat-sensing cameras, looking for the "hot" houses - which would be a tip that there's some lamps running in there. Or watching power bills for extra usage. They can't - they've tried and judges have thrown it out. You need a warrant first. Public property is fair game, though, and they can go through your trash once it hits the public curve.
Anyhow, that's getting off topic. Point is, this is no shock. Without a warrant a cop is limited to what he sees in public property, he can't go onto your property or through your car without permission.
With exceptions (that they love to exploit) like they can search a trunk of a car if there's a safety concern. They like to pull over suspected dealers, play "hey now I think your exhaust might be leaking, we need to look in the trunk for your safety!"... Though a good lawyer chews such actions up in court.
By and large, Judges are very pro-citizen and very anti-cop. They were all attorneys or DAs and know the games they play, and aren't impressed.
What are we talking about again? Oh yeah. GPS. Dont worry about the local LEOs slipping one into your pocket and watching you. Thats federal black helicopter shit (and if you get the feds on your case all bets are off)
Ruling only applies to Washington State (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Hmm (Score:5, Informative)
[Note: the Court of Appeals is the lower court being overruled here]
Re:Hmm (Score:5, Informative)
"Thus, obtaining by sense-enhancing technology any information regarding the home's interior that could not otherwise have been obtained without physical intrusion into a constitutionally protected area constitutes a search"
This can be logically extended to cover any activity not occouring in full public view and to any technological augmentation of the police's natural abilities. That case was arguably the most important one heard by this supreme court because they basically decided that advancement of technology does not give the police an unlimited liscense to observe the populace.
UK doesn't get it, alas (Score:3, Informative)
It's a pity that the UK doesn't get it. Here the government have reintroduced the Snoopers charter [bbc.co.uk] so your mobile phone location (as well as your email, telephone, website logs) can all be accessed automatically (i.e. without a warrent) not only by the police, but also by departments like the fire service, local council, etc.
In true 1984 double speak, allowing more departments access to this information has been described as "imposing further restrictions" on the use of existing powers.