Court allows agents to secretly put GPS trackers on cars

[RamboLiberal]

Source: CNN

Law enforcement officers may secretly place a GPS device on a person's car without seeking a warrant from a judge, according to a recent federal appeals court ruling in California.

Drug Enforcement Administration agents in Oregon in 2007 surreptitiously attached a GPS to the silver Jeep owned by Juan Pineda-Moreno, whom they suspected of growing marijuana, according to court papers.

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The ruling likely won't be the end of the matter. A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., arrived at a different conclusion in similar case, saying officers who attached a GPS to the car of a suspected drug dealer should have sought a warrant.

Experts say the issue could eventually reach the U.S. Supreme Court.


Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/08/27/oregon.gps.surveillance/index.html?hpt=T1

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This damn well better reach the SCOTUS! WTF!

[no_hypocrisy]

1. If you find a GPS on your vehicle, does that mean you're legally allowed to remove it?

[REACTIVATED IN CT]

2. Yes, according to the law school professor who was on

Washington Journal this am discussing this topic. Someone called in with that very question and he said he didn't see where it would be a problem to do that.

It was an interesting discussion esp. about where "in public" was. For example, police can go on your driveway and put one of these on your vehicle. Your garage may or not be "private property".

[Cronus Protagonist]

3. If I had a vehicle and it had one of these on it

I suspect it would fall off all on its own within one day of me discovering it.

[TygrBright]

8. I suspect not only would it fall off on its own, it might become mysteriously attached to, um, say..

...a city bus. Or a cross-country eighteen wheeler.

Aliens. Definitely. Evil space aliens would do that.

suspiciously,
Bright

[LiberalFighter]

12. I rather attach it to a high profile Republican or a dirty cop.

[superconnected]

9. Sneak it onto a bus and leave it in the seat coushins- a greyhound.

A plane would be optimal but I doubt someone could get it through one of those terrorist screening facilities - I mean airports.

[leveymg]

25. You do, if you have OnStar, GPS, fuzzbuster, or Satellite Radio, (or a cell phone).

All these devices give off unique electronic signatures that can be used to track a vehicle (or a person, and in the case of OnStar and a cellphone, for evesdropping, but that will probably require a Title III or FISA warrant).

[No Elephants]

4. Why not?

[Roland99]

5. but we can't record a police office in any way, shape or form

unless we want to face 16 years in prison.

[Poll_Blind]

19. Indeed- so if you record the officer planting it you can face time in prison.

:puke:

PB

[Supply Side Jesus]

28. LoL

[No Elephants]

6. You assume this SCOTUS would rule against government and for the people?

Not a safe assumption, IMO.

[TexanRudeBoy]

11. When does any court

not rule for the government? Its extremely rare.

When Hamilton and Jefferson agree on something its usually pretty solid. Both argued that the only result possible if we entrust interpretation of the constitution to only the courts concentration of power and rubber stamping of government policies would be guaranteed.

[47of74]

13. Especially with the court we have now

Scalia, Alito, and Clarence "What Ever Scalia says" Thomas are probably drooling over a chance to take rights away from regular people.

[TexanRudeBoy]

17. Jeez...

Kagan supports nearly unlimited executive power in the War on Terror as well.

Glenn Greenwald:

Nothing is a better fit for this White House than a blank slate, institution-loyal, seemingly principle-free careerist who spent the last 15 months as the Obama administration's lawyer vigorously defending every one of his assertions of extremely broad executive authority.

http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2010/05/10/kagan

The abuses of executive power and crushing of civil liberties in the War on Terror are completely bipartisan. You need to stop thinking in terms of your team and their team. Its the aristocracy vs the people. the aristocracy doesn't care which mascot is being paraded around the white house.

[saigon68]

26. No that's Clarence "Long Dong Silver" Thomas

http://whitehouse.georgewbush.org/ask/cthomas.asp



Calvin Jeharnish, from New York, NY writes:
Dear Brother Thomas,

When Orin Hatch asked you the question, "Have you ever uttered the name, 'Long Dong Silver'?", it was my favorite moment in Senatorial history, and I am sure you are proud that is in the record. That being said, if Long Dong films aren't your favorites, can you tell us what are?

Justice Thomas:
To be honest, I always found John Holmes' performances to be uninspired. While some his earlier efforts, including Johnny Wadd ('73) and The Orgy Machine ('72) impressed me with their attention to volume discharge and imaginative contortionism, I can honestly say I had soured on his work by the time Dr. Gonad's Sex Tails entered Savannah nickle booths in the fall of 1977.

Through much of the 1980's, I focused on building a home library made up of solid installments from dependable franchises, particularly anything from the Devil in Miss Jones and Taboo series. Of course I was disappointed to see the slow but steady disappearance of the BetaMax format, whose superior resolution made for considerably more stimulating viewing. My Beta copy of I Saw Mommy Eating Santa Claus died a few years back, and I can't find a replacement for the life of me.

Moving on, I'd say that my favortie thing about the 90's was discovering the sub-genre of playful-yet-artistic adult reimaginings of more mainstream Hollywood fare. From On Golden Blonde to The Rodfather and Sperms of Endearment, I really couldn't get enough of the stuff. If you haven't yet dabbled, I'd recommend starting with something accessible like Titty Slickers IV, then moving on Edward Penishands, Muffy the Vampire Layer, and Saturday Night Beaver.

[mike r]

7. Something to keep in mind if you're dating a cop

Is this better than keylogging or what?

[texastoast]

10. This is just dreadful and this slippery slope was started by Raygun

Remember that, you libertarian/repukian trolls.

[TexanRudeBoy]

14. Jebus......

What does it matter who started what? Obama has continued or strengthened every aspect of the Bush/Cheney terror doctrine. There is absolutely no transparency as Obama's team is parroting Bush state secrets arguments left and right. He's trying to have email and other electronic communications added to the list of things the FBI doesn't need warrants to obtain.

Stop with this inane left vs right bull shit. The abuses on our liberties don't get scaled back no matter who's in power.

And just an FYI, Clinton massively expanded police powers in the War on Drugs during his time. Expanding government powers is completely bipartisan.

http://www.mapinc.org/newscfdp/v01/n087/a05.html?6793

[superconnected]

15. Where is the ACLU?

[unblock]

16. what's amazing to me is that it's ok to TRESPASS in order to place a gps on your car

i mean, it's one thing to follow you until you park on public property, and THEN attach a gps device. that's plenty freaky enough, but at least you're doing it on public property.

but to say it's perfectly fine to do this on your private property -- i mean, what does PRIVATE PROPERTY mean, after all? would it change matters if you posted a "no trespassing" sign?

[Poll_Blind]

18. Fuck that shit. Didn't we say the Russian government were monsters for doing shit like that?

Oh how the times change, boys & girls...

PB

[Poll_Blind]

20. These devices are pretty damned small, too, and as cheap as $99 a piece. (PIC)

Pulled that up on a Google search of "smallest gps tracker". Didn't realize they'd be so cheap!

PB

[REACTIVATED IN CT]

22. The size of a bar of soap according to the conversation

on WJ this morning

[Demeter]

21. Doesn't the 4th Amendment Mean ANYTHING Anymore?

Sign me Disgusted

[TheWatcher]

30. The Constitution is pretty much Impotent and Ceremonial at this point.

They keep it around to give the illusion that we are still a Free Country.

You know, just to giggle at the Serfs who are under the impression that we still live in one.

[Land Shark]

23. More disturbing is the opinion's reasoning: Cops can follow you in car 24/7 so no problem with GPS

The very picture of a totalitarian state: Police tailing someone 24/7 in a police vehicle, specifically without probable cause. This is apparently so clearly okay in the 9th Circuit's mind it used it to reason by analogy that the GPS device was just fine. Even worse, in footnote 3 the court said it need not consider whether or not reasonable suspicion existed because there was no search under the 4th Amendment. TRANSLATION: IT is clearly implied that police cars can follow someone 24/7 without reasonable suspicion. Were the court to ever hold otherwise, it would have to distinguish police tailing around the clock for no reason PLUS a visible police car, from police tailing 24/7 with an invisible police car in the form of GPS.

Here's how the opinion actually reasons, saying:

"{...}whereas in Knotts, as in this case, “{t}he substitute is for an activity, namely following a car on a public street, that is unequivocally not a search within the meaning of the amendment.” United States v. Garcia, 474 F.3d 994, 997 (7th Cir.2007). Pineda-Moreno makes no claim that the agents used the tracking devices to intrude into a constitutionally protected area. The only information the agents obtained from the tracking devices was a log of the locations where Pineda-Moreno's car traveled, information the agents could have obtained by following the car.
UNITED STATES v. PINEDA-MORENO, No. 08-30385, January 11, 2010 http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-9th-circuit/1497005.html

[Downwinder]

24. They get very bent when I follow them. n/t

[jmowreader]

27. I wouldn't recommend planting it on a Greyhound

However, there is nothing that says if you find this valuable piece of taxpayer-funded equipment you can't take steps to protect it against the ravages of wind and weather, so I recommend crawling under your car and wrapping it up in aluminum foil, then duct-taping the aluminum foil in place so it won't fall off.

The fact the aluminum foil will prevent signals from going into or coming out of the GPS tracker is not really the point. We've got to save the taxpayers some of their hard-earned cash!

[TheWatcher]

29. Welcome to The Soviet Union with Better TV.

The Burgeoning Police State Continues.

And the Sheep Population, for the Most Part, could not care less, could not care to know, or are too mesmerized by their distraction of choice to even bother.