SC Rules Cops Need Warrant to Slap GPS on Cars
The U.S. Supreme Court decided Monday that law enforcement officials need a court-approved warrant before using a GPS device to track a suspect.
Justices offered different opinions regarding how Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures apply to the balance between law enforcement and privacy.
However, the court decided unanimously on the need for a warrant. The decision was based on the case of Washington, D.C., nightclub owner Antonine Jones, who received a life sentence in 2008 on drug trafficking conspiracy charges. He had been the subject of 28 days of GPS surveillance that resulted in more than 2,000 pages of information on Jones' whereabouts. The police had not obtained a warrant to track him via GPS. The Supreme Court voted 9-0 to toss out his life sentence.
The justices differed on how exactly warrantless GPS tracking violated the Fourth Amendment. Justice Antonin Scalia led the majority with Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and Sonia Sotomayor. The use of GPS tracking devices on suspect's cars, he said, was illegal at all times without a warrant.
Blind, but able to 'see' traffic
Al Ain // Hesham Kamel, an engineer who cannot see, doesn't dare cross the street alone. And given the speeding culture on UAE roads, he reckons even sighted pedestrians need to watch out.
The UAE University professor is leading a three-year project to create a system using wireless communications and GPS to help blind people such as him "see" their environment better.
The Pedestrian Alarm and Security System (Pass) should help them detect moving objects - particularly cars speeding down a street they intend to cross - and let drivers know when a blind person is near.
Existing systems work for stationary objects such as pedestrian signals and shopfronts. But until now, providing fast and accurate information about moving objects has eluded engineers.
"Anything less than perfectly and you can kill a person," said Dr Kamel, who lost his sight at the age of 23 after an eye procedure. "Here, the pedestrians watch out for the vehicles, and not the other way around."
But those who lack the funds for an armoured car or the stomach for a "security detail" may be consoled by a couple of caveats. and more »
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