The United States Supreme Court is set to hear a case regarding the right of law enforcement officials to use Global Positioning Satellite devices to track suspects tomorrow. The case is expected to be a landmark one in determining policy restricting use of burgeoning mobile tracking equipment.
The latest case, US v. Jones, will decided whether using data obtained from GPS devices, Smartphones, and the like, without use of a warrant or consent in any form, is a violation of a suspect’s 4th Amendment rights.
The Obama administration has come out in defense of the right of law enforcement to do so, but a number of prominent groups, law enforcement officials, and politicians have declared their staunch opposition to such allowances. The Supreme Court has been beset with a number of letters bearing “Friend of the Court” status. These groups fear that with the proliferation of GPS technology, the government will have access to a frightening amount of knowledge regarding individuals’ whereabouts, thus infringing on their rights.
Antoine Jones, a DC-area nightclub owner, was convicted of a cocaine trafficking conspiracy as a result of information lifted from a GPS unit installed in his truck. His case was chosen as pivotal to this precedent-setting issue.
“GPS technology empowers the government to engage in indiscriminate and perpetual monitoring of any individual’s movements,” said Jones’ attorney, Stephen Leckar.
Solicitor General Donald Verrilli disagreed with Leckar. “No evidence exists of widespread, suspicion-less GPS monitoring,” he maintained.
The ruling will have a significant impact and law enforcement, who have been ramping up their use of tracking technology.
