In a unanimous decision by the United States Supreme Court, a change was effectuated in the landscape of Fourth Amendment law (also known as search and seizure law) that will affect criminal cases across the country, including here in Minnesota. In United States vs. Jones, the Court ruled that police had violated the Unites States Constitution’s Fourth Amendment when they placed a global positioning system (“GPS”) tracking device on a suspect’s car monitoring its movement for 28 days without a warrant. The majority of justices founded their decision on the fact that the GPS device was placed on private property. The Court’s decision raises interesting questions regarding numerous modern technologies used by law enforcement for the apprehension of criminals, which will inevitability will be played out in up-coming years. The Court’s decision can be found here.
This blog entry is written by Chris Renz, a shareholder at Thomsen Nybeck. Chris practices in the litigation area of the firm with primary focus on real estate litigation, employment litigation, townhome and condominium law, and criminal law, particularly as the prosecutor for the Metropolitan Airports Commission.
Tags: car monitoring, Chris Renz, fourth amendment, global positioning system, GPS, search and seizure, Unites States vs. Jones, warrant
