Massachusetts Police Can't Place GPS On Autos Without Warrant 194
pickens writes "The EFF reports that the Supreme Court of Massachusetts has held in Commonwealth v. Connolly that police may not place GPS tracking devices on cars without first getting a warrant, reasoning that the installation of the GPS device was a seizure of the suspect's vehicle. Search and seizure is a legal procedure used in many civil law and common law legal systems whereby police or other authorities and their agents, who suspect that a crime has been committed, do a search of a person's property and confiscate any relevant evidence to the crime. According to the decision, 'when an electronic surveillance device is installed in a motor vehicle, be it a beeper, radio transmitter, or GPS device, the government's control and use of the defendant's vehicle to track its movements interferes with the defendant's interest in the vehicle notwithstanding that he maintains possession of it.' Although the case only protects drivers in Massachusetts, another recent state court case, People v. Weaver in the State of New York, also held that because modern GPS devices are far more powerful than beepers, police must get a warrant to use the trackers, even on cars and people traveling the public roads."
Free to drive (Score:3, Funny)
You are now free to drive around the Commonwealth.
With apologies to Southwest Airlines.
Re:And the point goes to the criminals (Score:5, Funny)
Gojira, too.
APS (Score:4, Funny)
I volunteer you to be the first to have a GPS shoved up your ass.
A Follow-up Question (Score:3, Funny)
How about the reverse? Can we put GPS trackers on cop cars? I really want to replicate the video game minimap experience with a GPS dash unit.
Sorry Spidey... (Score:2, Funny)
...all those criminals you tracked with your spider trackers are now being released from prison. You unconstitutional hack you...
C'mon, someone HAD to say it.
[and please note: I am VERY glad for this ruling]
Re:What is very sad (Score:3, Funny)
Actually, I would have thought that the Fourth Amendment makes it somewhat doubtful that this can be done to a U.S. citizen at all. It states that:
The specificity requirement would tend to indicate that the one placing the GPS tracker specifies the place it will be used, which sort of defeats the purpose of placing the tracker in the first place.
Re:What is very sad (Score:3, Funny)
Well... given that roving wiretaps are so controversial in the Patriot Act, I'm not convinced of this. A lot of people seem to think otherwise!
Re:I've always wondered, actually... (Score:3, Funny)
Ideally, here in Boston/Cambridge one finds it, realizes what it is, glues a VERY strong magnet to it, and then, affixes the GPS unit to one of the Green/Red/Orange Line subway cars or buses when next to it at a stop light/or as a passenger.
Hilarity ensues.
Re:I've always wondered, actually... (Score:3, Funny)
Or find the bar that the cops park behind while on duty and stick it to one of their bumpers.
Watch them: