LEGAL FOR COPS TO WARRANTLY TRACK CLUELESS YOU

Back in February of this year, I came across [http://www.engadget.com/2007/02/04/court-rules-that-sly-gps-tracking-isnt-unlawful/|this post] at Engadget.com that reported on a court case that had determined the legality of a cop secretly dropping a GPS unit into a suspects car. The problem with this? The cop had no warrant.

But, apparently, it's AOK for a cop to follow a person without a warrant, effectively searching his life for evidence of wrong-doing, like you'd normally need a warrant to search a house. Let me let a cutting from the above-linked Engadget post explain it more:

Earlier this month, the Seventh Circuit of the US Court of Appeals "ruled against a defendant who claimed that the surreptitious placement of a GPS tracking device amounted to an unconstitutional search," essentially giving the coppers the green light to add a GPS module to a suspicious ride sans a warrant. While we're sure the privacy advocates out there are screaming bloody murder, the district judge found that they had had a "reasonable suspicion that the defendant was engaged in criminal activity," and it seems that a well-placed hunch is all they need for lawful placement.

I'm kinda glad I don't have a car now. And if cops hid a GPS device on me, I'd probably find it. :)

See what happens when we go to war with a concept? We get these silly abuses of power. Seriously, what's wrong with a cop just tailing someone? I don't think you need that for a warrant. Giving cops God-like powers to conjure your location from a little box seems like we're giving them the ability to seriously abuse their powers. .

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