Breaking: SCOTUS Rules in Highly Anticipated GPS Tracking Case

Yesterday, the Supreme Court just handed down a unanimous ruling in one of the most closely watched cases of the year. All the justices agreed on the result, but diverged significantly in reasoning. The central issue in US v. Jones was whether attaching a GPS device to a car (i.e., allowing law enforcement 24/7 access to a person's movements), without obtaining a warrant first, violated the Fourth Amendment. What did the justices say? The ruling might surprise you....

The Supreme Court just handed down a unanimous opinion ruling in one of the most closely watched cases of the year. All the justices agreed on the result, but diverged significantly in reasoning.

This morning, the court issued its decision in United States v. Jones. Police in Washington, D.C. placed a GPS tracking device on the car of Antoine Jones, a nightclub owner, without obtaining a warrant. The GPS device helped law enforcement link Jones to a house used to store drugs and money. He was eventually convicted and sentenced to life in prison. An appeals court later overturned his conviction.

The central issue in Jones was whether attaching a GPS device to a car (i.e., allowing law enforcement 24/7 access to a person’s movements), without obtaining a warrant first, violated the Fourth Amendment.

The case has been heralded as one of the most important privacy cases in recent memory. Wired’s Threat Level blog said Jones “is arguably the biggest Fourth Amendment case in the computer age.” Editor emerita Kashmir Hill attended oral arguments for the case back in November.

What did the justices say? The ruling might surprise you…

The Washington Post sums it up nicely. Privacy advocates, you can stop holding your breath now:

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Associate Justice Antonin Scalia said [in his opinion for the Court] that the government’s installation of a GPS device, and its use to monitor the vehicle’s movements, constitutes a search, meaning that a warrant is required.

“By attaching the device to the Jeep” that Jones was using, “officers encroached on a protected area,” Scalia wrote.

All nine justices agreed that the placement of the GPS on the Jeep violated the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable search and seizure.

Scalia wrote the main opinion of three in the case. He was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Anthony Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and Sonia Sotomayor.

Sotomayor also wrote one of the two concurring opinions that agreed with the outcome in the Jones case for different reasons.

Justice Samuel Alito also wrote a concurring opinion in which he said the court should have gone further and dealt with GPS tracking of wireless devices, like mobile phones. He was joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan.

The entire ruling is available on the Supreme Court website (PDF).

I have not had a chance to fully read through the opinion, but I have to say, I’m impressed. It’s not what I’ve come to expect from the current Supreme Court. (My colleague Elie Mystal speaks more boldly: “I can’t believe they decided not to be fascists.”)

My cynicism thermometer has dropped a few degrees today. Happy Monday, everyone.

Supreme Court says search warrants needed when police use GPS devices to track suspects [Washington Post]

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Earlier: SCOTUS Not Psyched About Idea Of Government Secretly Putting GPS Trackers On Their Cars