United States v. Garcia
Encyclopedia
United States v. Garcia was a 2007 Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals case regarding the use of GPS devices. The court ruled that a placing a GPS tracking device a personal vehicle without a warrant did not violate a suspect's Fourth Amendment
rights.
. Shortly after his release from prison, the police learned that he intended to begin manufacturing meth once again. They subsequently found the car he was using at the time and, without obtaining a warrant, placed a commercially available GPS tracking device on his car while it was parked in a public area. The police later retrieved the device, and used the information contained therein to locate the location where Garcia was manufacturing meth. Garcia was subsequently convicted using this information.
substituted for visual surveillance, which does not normally require a warrant. For this reason, the use of a GPS tracking device simply represents the use of more advanced technology for surveillance purposes, and that restricting their use would therefore serve to restrict the efficiency of law enforcement rather than protect the privacy rights of the individual. It is with this in mind that the court closes its decision by noting that a program of mass surveillance, which would be infeasible without the use of GPS devices, would not necessarily be constitutionally protected.
Katz v. United States
United States v. Pineda Moreno
United States v. Knotts
Fourth Amendment
Fourth Amendment may refer to the:*Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution—part of the Bill of Rights, prohibiting unreasonable searches and seizures....
rights.
Background
Bernardo Garcia was previously convicted of distributing methamphetamineMethamphetamine
Methamphetamine is a psychostimulant of the phenethylamine and amphetamine class of psychoactive drugs...
. Shortly after his release from prison, the police learned that he intended to begin manufacturing meth once again. They subsequently found the car he was using at the time and, without obtaining a warrant, placed a commercially available GPS tracking device on his car while it was parked in a public area. The police later retrieved the device, and used the information contained therein to locate the location where Garcia was manufacturing meth. Garcia was subsequently convicted using this information.
Decision
The court ruled that placing a GPS device on Garcia's car without a warrant did not constitute a seizure or an unreasonable search, but noted that its ruling would not necessarily apply to a program of mass surveillance. The court ruled that the device did not affect the vehicle's functionality in any way, and could therefore not constitute a seizure of the vehicle. The court also noted that the use of a tracking device, as in KatzKatz v. United States
Katz v. United States, , is a United States Supreme Court case discussing the nature of the "right to privacy" and the legal definition of a "search." The Court’s ruling adjusted previous interpretations of the unreasonable search and seizure clause of the Fourth Amendment to count immaterial...
substituted for visual surveillance, which does not normally require a warrant. For this reason, the use of a GPS tracking device simply represents the use of more advanced technology for surveillance purposes, and that restricting their use would therefore serve to restrict the efficiency of law enforcement rather than protect the privacy rights of the individual. It is with this in mind that the court closes its decision by noting that a program of mass surveillance, which would be infeasible without the use of GPS devices, would not necessarily be constitutionally protected.
See also
Kyllo v. United StatesKyllo v. United States
Kyllo v. United States, , held that the use of a thermal imaging device from a public vantage point to monitor the radiation of heat from a person's home was a "search" within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment, and thus required a warrant...
Katz v. United States
Katz v. United States
Katz v. United States, , is a United States Supreme Court case discussing the nature of the "right to privacy" and the legal definition of a "search." The Court’s ruling adjusted previous interpretations of the unreasonable search and seizure clause of the Fourth Amendment to count immaterial...
United States v. Pineda Moreno
United States v. Pineda Moreno
United States v. Pineda-Moreno was a 2010 Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals case regarding the use of GPS devices. The court ruled that a placing a GPS tracking device a personal vehicle without a warrant did not violate a suspect's Fourth Amendment rights, even if the vehicle was parked in the...
United States v. Knotts
United States v. Knotts
United States v. Knotts, 460 U.S. 276 was a 1983 United States Supreme Court case regarding the use of electronic surveillance devices. The device in question is described as a beeper and can only be tracked from a short distance...