A rare and unanimous SCOTUS decision that takes us one step back from living in an all-intrusive police state:
The Supreme Court ruled Monday that police must obtain a warrant before attaching a GPS tracker to a suspect’s vehicle, voting unanimously in one of the first major cases to test constitutional privacy rights in the digital age.
The government argued that attaching the tiny device to a car’s undercarriage was too trivial a violation of property rights to matter, and that no one who drove in public streets could expect his movements to go unmonitored. Thus, the technique was “reasonable,” meaning that police were free to employ it for any reason without first justifying it to a magistrate, the government said.
The justices seemed troubled by that position at arguments in November, where the government acknowledged it would also allow attaching such trackers to the justices’ own cars without obtaining a warrant.
One drug dealer goes free, which is probably a worthwhile price to pay to ensure that in an increasingly connected and digital world, some vestiges of the notion of personal privacy from an all-seeing state remain intact.
A rare victory for the little people, handed down by the elites.
… no one who drove in public streets could expect his movements to go unmonitored.
Maybe in a tolitarian socialist state where control of the masses is necessary to ensure that dissent is suppressed. But in a nation of free people this is an outrageous assertion.
Guess when you sit on the Supreme Court, and you realize the law could ruin your privacy as well ( unlike Congress where they pass laws all the time and exclude themselves from the law at the same time), it makes even a Supreme Court Justice rethink putting such a law into place.
2012 score – Common Sense 1 / Obama Stupidity 0
Let’s all hope that ” Common Sense ” wins the day as we have had enough of the other side’s idiocy.
Speaking of Congress and the little people, this is germane:
You bet.
It’s not like they would be hard to find or confiscate the amount owed in wages pending…
So buddy, it looks like we have ourselves a rematch! I’m quite concerned because your guys have to have a hankering for revenge. That’s never a good thing. On the other hand my team looks pretty darn good right now. I have to admit that I didn’t think we would be the Niner’s.
Should be fun in two weeks. I’d bet you a ride in Lex’s Kfir on the outcome but much sort of like Schrodinger’s Paradox I stupidly believe that the act of placing a bet on my Jints alters the outcome by poking the gods and making them punish me.
I once lost a bet to my father and had to sit through L. Pavarotti screeching in I Lombardo. I no longer bet on or against the Giants. Lesson learned.
This Red Sox fan is enjoying the upcoming Boston vs. New York showdown. Got my New England Patriots T-Shirt ready. The first time I ever saw them play in person Babe Parilli was at QB playing the Buffalo Bills in Fenway Park. Times have changed.
New England is the team to beat…NY has made us aware they are the NFC team of record.
I will place my faith on Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. They are the two best in the league, hands down. Tom Coughlin has made some serious mistakes and his blood pressure has been like the Dow Jones. Eli Manning has the skills but he is still trying to prove he is on Brady’s level.
NEW ENGLAND will prevail….THIS is our year.
That’s what I like to see, confidence! Just a little reminder, Brady ain’t young anymore and JPP is a freak of nature.
Daryle,
Bet on the Giants in a big way for first time in my life against the Packers (a buddy was in Vegas and offered to place one for me). Won a respectable sum for no work at all, which is nice.
Was not so confident against the Niner’s.
At least the Gmen are underdogs-they have not won a game as a favorite since LT (the real one) was playing.
After the Giants won in 86 and 91 the Redskins won the next year. when we won in ’07 I placed a bet on the Skins in ’08. they lost. Another reminder to me to not bet on football. My betting really does seem to influence results.
Hello IRS ??? We need you to latch on to the wallets of these idjits like you do when the average Joe owes taxes…..garnish their wages, including full penalties.
That would send a clear signal to these entitled horse’s arses who are on the Federal Dole for life.
SK1 you ignorant slut, er, idiot dreamer. One of the protected class–the nomenklutura–punish one of their own? Not in THIS Galaxy!
Wow! Two nine-zip decisions against the Obama regime in one month. HOSANNA-TABOR EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN
CHURCH AND SCHOOL v. EQUAL EMPLOYMENT
OPPORTUNITY COMMISSION ET AL. issued 12 Jan was a unanamous decision against the EEOC and Justices Alito and Kagan even joined together in a concurring opinion. Now, if we can just get another nine-zip opinion AGAINST Obamacare, some of my sanity might be restored.
That was my first thought as well Boss. Over reaching perhaps. Whodathunk?
In the United States vs. Jones decision, one noted Constitutional scholar doesn’t see this as a, “… must obtain a warrant before attaching a GPS device to ones personal property, i.e., an individual’s automobile.” His contention, from the SCOTUS opinion, is that it was only held that the installation of the tracking device did constitute a, “search”, in violation of the Fourth Amendment.
In the legal world nothing is absolute… it is always subject to other interpretation(s).
http://volokh.com/2012/01/23/what-jones-does-not-hold/
The decision: http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/11pdf/10-1259.pdf
From the WSJ: “The justices seemed troubled by that position at arguments in November, where the government acknowledged it would also allow attaching such trackers to the justices’ own cars without obtaining a warrant.”
Oh my. Nine to naught decision.
Could it really be true that a neoconservative is a liberal mugged by reality?
A Neoconservative is a Liberal. They are what used to be the hawkish wing of the Dimocrats. They just invaded the Rep party because the McGovern wing ran them out of teh party.
A Neoconservative is a Trotskyite pretending to be a conservative.
No problem, just friend them on their I-touch/I-phone and follow them everywhere.
This isn’t the only case of this happening. Been being used in a few places, you know, because someone was suspicious, and it was less costly than a team following them around, living in a van, eating cold pizza, and probably having to hold it longer than they’d like…the public trough being less full these days you know, so…let’s save a few $$$ at the expense of liberty….
How can it be an illegal search to install a GPS on a car and NOT an illegal search to x-ray and feel people up at the airport?
I am way too lazy to look up the percentage of 9-0 decisions, but I want to believe it is rare?
My inner conservative is pleased by this decision. My inner cop who has seen the absolute good that timely tracker installs produce in fighting really, really bad people is frustrated. These were non-invasive installs that were blown away by SCOTUS today. Self-contained, external GPS units that did not require an agent to stand on private property or enter the vehicle to install. Not arguing against the decision (smarter folks than I have and just lost)…just enlightening the crowd.
You can still use them, just get a warrant.
Right on!!!
…I’m aware. Many tracker installs are warrant-ordered if only to get power from the host vehicle (plane, boat, car, etc.) already. Just adds time and steps to the process. I’m okay with that. Exigent circumstances are still exception to the warrant rule.
Always better whenever possible, to play by the rules, and dot you t’s and cross your i’s, so it doesn’t come back to haunt you. But, as you observe, there are occasional exigent circumstances, as the unexpected does happen. Still, I can work with this.
Chunk, I like to think that I would rather get my ass kicked right in front of my house by a criminal the police failed to keep track of, than for the police to know what everybody is up to at all times.
Chunk, the only place a policeman’s job is easy is in a police state.
In a free composed of citizens, not subjects, your job is supposed to be hard.
Again, not biatching about it.
Hey, if all abiding, lawful citizens were strapped, the leo’s job would be nil.
Sgt.Friday wants to follow a bad guy without a little legwork, get a warrant.
If the above strapped citizen is a target, or bystander, of a driveby, return fire.
It would not take long before the ‘bangers realized the profit is not worth it.
The Japs were afraid of our guns in the grass. It seems to me that it works internally.
‘Course the Maker’s Mark seems to be working exceptionally well tonight.
I wonder how they’d rule on roadside cameras? I live in Palm Beach County, where today’s paper had a story about a town’s plans to have every entrance to it covered by cameras that automatically check for wants and warrants and one official happily noting that “if you come to our town, we know about it.” It said several other towns also have cameras and that Palm Beach cops regularly makes stolen car busts thanks to the town’s cameras. (Lots of towns here have limited entry points, so it’s easy to have a few cameras cover them all).
In England they burn the traffic cameras. In America it’s easier, you can shoot them.
Oh, look, free target practice!
It’s better than shooting up the road signs, no?
I saw that article. My first thought was “I’m avoiding that place…” I don’t have any warrants or anything else against me, but it so smacked of big brother that they just don’t need my business. I avoid that town across the water that has the same thing going on… unless I MUST go there.