Warrantless GPS tracking of vehicles is unconstitutional, US court rules
Attaching a GPS to a car without a search warrant is unconstitutional, the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled [click here for PDF] on Tuesday.
The decision comes as a victory for the privacy groups that filed an amicus brief [click here for PDF] in November 2012, asking that the court consider whether law enforcement agents should have to obtain a warrant based on probable cause before attaching a GPS tracker to a car and tracking its movements. The case involves a GPS tracker that police attached to a car belonging to Harry Katzin.
Police suspected that Katzin, along with his brothers Mark and Michael Katzin, had robbed a number of Rite Aid pharmacies in the US state of New Jersey in 2009 and 2010. All three brothers had criminal histories that included burglary and theft. In addition, Harry had been found crouching beside some bushes outside of a Rite Aid that reported suspicious activity.
