Court allows police to track vehicles with GPS
Published: May 9, 2009 Raw Story
A Wisconsin appeals court ruled Thursday that police were within their constitutional authority when they placed a GPS tracking device on a vehicle belonging to a man accused of stalking.
The decision was rendered following the denial of an appeal by Michael Sveum, who was convicted of aggravated stalking. Sveum petitioned the court to overturn his conviction, but the court ruled that police — who had obtained a warrant to track Sveum’s vehicle — did not in fact need a warrant so long as the device was on the outside of the vehicle.
“The State responds that no Fourth Amendment search or seizure occurs when police attach a GPS device to the outside of a vehicle when it is in a place accessible to the public and then use the device to track the vehicle while it is in public view,” wrote the judges. “We agree with the state.”
They added: “At the same time, we urge the legislature to consider regulating both police and private use of GPS tracking technology.”
“”New technology can provide new ways for law enforcement officers to investigate possible crimes,” said state Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen in a media advisory. “Here, the use of the GPS tracker didn’t violate the Fourth Amendment because police never searched or seized Sveum’s car, its occupants or its contents.”
“We also agree with the State that the police action of attaching the GPS device to Sveum’s car, either by itself or in combination with subsequent tracking, does not constitute a search or seizure,” the court continued. “… we discern no privacy interest protected by the Fourth Amendment that is invaded when police attach a device to the outside of a vehicle, as long as the information obtained is the same as could be gained by the use of other techniques that do not require a warrant.”
Sveum’s conviction was based largely on evidence obtained via GPS. He is currently imprisoned at the Oshkosh Correctional Institution.
The case is State of Wisconsin v. Michael A. Sveum. [PDF link]
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