Ethics

Appalling Ruling in Wisconsin

By Ed Brayton

Balko spotted this appalling court ruling in Wisconsin, where a state appeals court said that the state can attach a GPS device and track your movements 24/7 without a warrant.

As the law currently stands, the court said police can mount GPS on cars to track people without violating their constitutional rights -- even if the drivers aren't suspects.

Officers do not need to get warrants beforehand because GPS tracking does not involve a search or a seizure, Judge Paul Lundsten wrote for the unanimous three-judge panel based in Madison.

That means "police are seemingly free to secretly track anyone's public movements with a GPS device," he wrote.

Full post as published by Dispatches from the Culture Wars on May 15, 2009 (boomark / email).