or....
Posted on 01/21/2005 11:01:49 AM PST by CrawDaddyCA
Cops without a warrant can secretly attach Global Positioning System devices to a suspect's vehicle, according to a federal judge - who said using the gadgets is virtually the same thing as following a car along a road.
The decision handed down by U.S. Judge David Hurd in upstate Utica last week could give law enforcement officials another high-tech weapon to catch criminals, but is troubling to privacy advocates.
Hurd ruled that Robert (Bugsy) Moran, a Hells Angel member and defense attorney accused of conspiring to distribute methamphetamine, had "no expectation of privacy in the whereabouts of his vehicle on a public roadway."
"Law enforcement personnel could have conducted a visual surveillance of the vehicle as it traveled on the public highways," Hurd wrote.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David Grable, who is prosecuting Moran, strongly backed the ruling.
"Your movements on a highway aren't private," he said. "You don't have a reasonable expectation of privacy, which is a Fourth Amendment test."
But civil liberties advocates said the decision opens the door to increased government surveillance.
Miniature GPS receivers are now available for about $1,000 and can be affixed to the undercarriage of vehicles in minutes.
Hurd's ruling is only binding in his upstate courtroom, said law Prof. Barry Kamins, but other judges will likely consult it.
"It's kinda scary," said Christopher Dunn, associate legal director of the New York City Liberties Union. "If this ruling applied to New York City, the NYPD would be free to go out and attach these devices to cars and track people without any showing of wrongdoing."
In the Laci Peterson murder case, California detectives got court permission to hide the devices on three of Scott Peterson's vehicles. They showed Peterson visited a marina they had searched several times.
Not all judges agree with the most recent federal ruling.
Last year, Nassau County Court Judge Joseph Calabrese said attaching a GPS device to a car amounted to a search and seizure. "At this time, more than ever, individuals must be given the constitutional protections necessary to their continued unfettered freedom from a 'big brother' society," he wrote.
"Ahhhh, no. I can turn it on remotely. You might want to take the battery out...
"
Depends on the model.
Look for both batterys. That little memory saver can send a fix...
You are correct, and therefore, it should be a simple matter of using an electronic "sweeper" device on your vehicle to detect the outgoing signal. You can then presumably do with it as you will, seeing as once it is attached to your vehicle (your property) it becomes part of that vehicle, and thus is yours.
A criminal has to be sentenced by a court before he can be required to wear a monitoring bracelet. This is nothing more than a monitoring bracelet for your car, and thus you deserve all the protection of the law in order for the cops to be allowed to legally attach one to your car. If they don't give that to you, then they have merely made a present to you of a (presumably not cheap) GPS tracking device.
Understand completely.
or....
Just wrap it in tinfoil or one of those mylar bags that cpu's come wrapped in. Makes a faraday cage so the signals can't get through.
I'm wondering how the judge would like it if they attached one to his bumper? These people think because they're working within the system that it will never turn on them.
You might get some mileage (pun intended) out of one of those "trip computers" that logs her acceleration and speeding habits :) But I hear where you're coming from. I wonder if perhaps OnStar is willing to tell you your car's location as long as you give them your password.
They have a device that will remotely hook your battery back up.
You will not like this.
Right now it is very primitive. They can only detect if a person is there.
Within 5 to 10 years, they will be able to see into your shower as you clean up, and the resolution will be such that they can comment on your "manhood".
Thanks for posting this thread.
Stock symbol(s)?
well, shoot. putting a gps on a person's body is virtually the same as watching someone walk around so, hey, why not?
Somebody please put the "prudence" back in jurisprudence.
I will second it.
Excellent Analogy. Where can I buy some of these things?
Drive down to the truck stop remove device and attach it to a long haul truck heading out of town.
I knew somebody would suggest that or similar A deserving politician or bureaucrat's car would be interesting.
Anyone carrying a cell phone can be tracked..
Yep. But not everyone. There's several Web sites that sell cell phones and sim cards that don't have a tracking chip.
To be determined.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.