Obama Administration Fights to Allow Warrantless GPS Tracking
\nTuesday, May 10, 2011<\/p>\n
The Obama administration has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a case involving warrantless tracking of suspects by law enforcement using GPS devices.<\/p>\n
Federal prosecutors from the U.S. Department of Justice reached out to the Supreme Court after a three-judge panel of Democratic and Republican appointees in Washington D.C. unanimously threw out the conviction and life sentence of Antoine Jones, a nightclub owner convicted of operating a cocaine distribution ring. The judges objected to the month-long auto surveillance of Jones by police, ruling that law enforcement should have obtained a warrant before using a GPS tracker.<\/p>\n
In many instances, suspects are not aware police are monitoring the movement of their cars unless they stumble upon the tiny GPS devices, usually hidden behind automobile bumpers.<\/p>\n
In addition to the Jones case, an Arab-American college student, Yasir Afifi, has filed a lawsuit against the government alleging the FBI violated his privacy rights by placing a GPS device on his car without a warrant. Afifi contends he was targeted simply because of his ethnic background. -Noel Brinkerhoff …source<\/a><\/p>\n