Ninth Circuit Court Makes
Ruling in Favor of GPS Tracking Without a Warrant
Colleagues,
A ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
yesterday may have adverse affects on the use of GPS trackers by
private investigators. The court actually ruled in favor of law
enforcement declaring they did not violate the Fourth Amendment
rights of Juan Pineda-Moreno when the DEA placed a tracking
device on his vehicle in 2007.
While this may be a victory for law enforcement, it brings
unnecessary attention to the existence and use of GPS tracking
devices by individuals and private investigators. Media outlets
are already jumping on this topic and will likely start
contacting detective agency owners asking if and how they use
GPS tracking devices on cases. CNN already did this yesterday
and I’m sure local TV news channel will follow.
There is no doubt that the privacy advocates will use the
publicity generated by this ruling to immediately cause
legislators to introduce a bill regulating the use of GPS
trackers, especially by non-law enforcement. This publicity was
inevitable and the courts ruling will likely accelerate anti GPS
legislation at the federal level.
The Court ruled that people have no expectation of privacy when
a vehicle is parked in the driveway or in public view. However,
earlier this month the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of
Columbia Circuit reversed a conspiracy conviction based on law
enforcement authorities failing to acquire a warrant using a GPS
unit. So, the courts on opposite ends of the country are split
on this issue.
The NCISS legislative committee will continue to monitor this
breaking news and work with legislators to protect the interest
of private investigators and security companies that use GPS
tracking devices for lawful purposes in the course of business.
You can help by voicing your concerns to legislators in
Washington DC next month by attending our Hit the Hill campaign.
More details can be found at www.nciss.org.
Keeping the profession informed,
Jimmie Mesis, LPI
NCISS Legislative Chairman
jim@nciss.orgNCISS
7501 Sparrows Point Blvd.
Baltimore, Maryland 21219-1927
(800) 445-8408 . Fax: (410) 388-9746
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