Important Fourth Amendment Case

This case won't be before the U.S. Supreme Court Justices until the new term begins in October, but it is one of the most important cases in the 21^st century. The case is the United States v. Jones (10-1259).

Question Presented: Whether the warrantless use of a tracking device on respondent's vehicle to monitor its movements on public streets violated the Fourth Amendment.

IN ADDITION TO THE QUESTION PRESENTED BY THE PETITION, THE PARTIES ARE DIRECTED TO BRIEF AND ARGUE THE FOLLOWING QUESTION: "WHETHER THE GOVERNMENT VIOLATED RESPONDENT'S FOURTH AMENDMENT RIGHTS BY INSTALLING THE GPS TRACKING DEVICE ON HIS VEHICLE WITHOUT A VALID WARRENT AND WITHOUT HIS CONSENT."

CERT. GRANTED 6/27/2011

Read the PDF from the SCOTUS HERE

What few seem to recognize is that cellphones are tracking devices and the Supreme Court ruling in this case will also determine the direction of future investigative tools and the use of tracking data by law enforcement without probable cause (i.e. a warrant). Obviously I am rooting for Antoine Jones.

The sad part is that this case is pushed by the Obama DOJ in what I consider an agenda to eliminate Fourth Amendment protections in the United States. With the SCOTUS decision in Connick vs. Thompson (09-571), I do not hold much hope.

Connick vs. Thompson Opinion HERE (PDF)

Failure at the Highest Level : Criminal Injustice

I have discussed the use of GPS tracking devices without warrant in my own case and in other cases on the blog. The last articles referencing the issue are:

More on GPS Tracking Without Warrant

GPS Tracking by State and Federal Agencies