Court Rules Probable-Cause Warrant Required For GPS Trackers

schwit1 tips this news from Wired: "An appellate court has finally supplied an answer to an open question left dangling by the Supreme Court in 2012: Do law enforcement agencies need a probable-cause warrant to affix a GPS tracker to a target's vehicle? The justices said the government's statement 'wags the dog rather vigorously,' noting that the primary reason for a search cannot be to generate evidence for law enforcement purposes. They also noted that 'Generally speaking, a warrantless search is not rendered reasonable merely because probable cause existed that would have justified the issuance of a warrant.' The justices also rejected the government's argument that obtaining a warrant would impede the ability of law enforcement to investigate crimes."

Comments

Re:More importantly...

[interkin3tic]

Yes, though I do have to say, if that argument gains traction, law enforcement will take a page from the net neutrality fight or citizens united and try to spin the argument. Specifically, they'll start arguing they need the "freedom" to investigate potential criminals without a warrant. And at that point they'll win because anyone with a brain will have it explode.