United States v. Jones

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United States v. Jones
Court Supreme Court of the United States
Citation
Date decided January 23, 2012

Facts

Police officers placed a GPS device on a suspect's car. Next, they tracked the car's position for a month all without obtaining a search warrant under the 4th Amendment of the US Constitution.

Procedural History

Three lower courts ruled that using a GPS device for electronic location tracking doesn't constitute a "search." The lower courts stated that there is no expectation of privacy in public movements.

Issues

Is a search warrant required to track a person's location using their car's GPS?

Holding

The police trespassed on the suspect's property rights when they secretly attached a GPS device on the suspect's vehicle.

Rule

A trespass is a search.