GPS Tracking

Are Laws Keeping Pace With Science?

Under what circumstances can a police officer slap a global positioning system (GPS) Tracking device on your car to gather evidence against you in a legal matter?

To what lengths can an authority figure go, to hide a high-tech vehicle tracking device on your personal property?

If you’re looking to the courts for a legal opinion about GPS tracking, keep looking. Two states recently addressed the issue in court, but ended up with very different, if not opposite, results.

Courts Conflict on Legality

Both considered government placement of GPS tracking devices, specifically, in what cases the action would be unjustified and an intrusion. At the heart of the matter is whether vehicle tracking units can be installed on private vehicles without a warrant. A warrant is a court-approved search in which officers specify the reasons behind the surveillance or search. It details the place to be searched and the person, things or information that is sought. (more…)

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WOODSTOCK, IL (May 12, 2009)  – Designers, manufacturers and distributors of Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking devices are lauding a Wisconsin court ruling of last week, because it will likely result in their technology being used more frequently, and perhaps with less hesitation, by law enforcement agencies.

The District 4 Court of Appeals in Madison, Wis. concluded that police do not need to obtain a warrant in order to place a GPS tracking unit on the outside of someone’s vehicle. Judge Paul Lundsten said in a statement that GPS tracking is not unreasonable search and seizure and that it didn’t violate privacy rights any more than regular visual surveillance.

The court, however did see the potential for abuse and followed the ruling with a request that state lawmakers pass laws detailing how and when GPS tracking crosses the line.

The case was prompted by a 41-year-old Madison man named Michael Sveum who was accused of stalking a woman. Police did get a warrant and secretly mounted a vehicle tracking device on Sveum’s car while it was parked in his driveway. After five weeks, police retrieved the device and also got a second warrant to search Sveum’s house. He was later arrested. (more…)