The Supreme Court's unanimous decision that police tracking of a suspect by use of a GPS device requires a warrant is getting a lot of news coverage. It is a significant decision. It may represent a potential new arrow in the quivers of criminal defense attorneys in Tennessee and elsewhere. But how it actually shakes out in use in the legal system is still an open question.

A key thing to remember in this ruling is that its scope is limited. What the justices decided in connection with this particular drug charges case is that police can't attach a GPS tracker to an individual's personal vehicle without first getting a warrant. To do so violates the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution protecting against illegal searches and seizures.

The case that prompted the ruling is US v. Jones. It involved Washington, D.C., nightclub owner Antoine Jones whom authorities suspected of drug trafficking and sales. As part of their investigation, police obtained a warrant to attach a tracking device on the suspect's car. But they didn't execute the warrant under the terms it spelled out. Still, they used it to track the suspect's activities for 29 days and collect evidence against him. Later, the man was convicted and sentenced to life in prison.

On appeal, the defense argued that the use of the GPS device was a privacy violation. Prosecutors countered that it was the same as using a radio bug on a package, which the courts had found to be OK. The appeals court ruled that the two technologies are distinctly different and that using GPS did violate privacy. The Supreme Court's decision supports that ruling and overturns Jones' conviction.

What remains unanswered in the latest decision is how it might influence the use of other technology for surveillance by authorities. It doesn't speak to whether it's OK for police to track individuals using GPS in cell phones, or tracking cell phone signals from tower to tower. The justices indicated that those issues might get addressed in future decisions.

Source: The Christian Science Monitor, "Unanimous Supreme Court: Get a warrant before installing GPS tracking device," Warren Richey, Jan. 24, 2012