GPS vehicle tracking devices are used by different organizations including the Justice Department and fleet managers. Organizations who offer business fuel cards can monitor their use through the GPS, fleet operators can use for vehicle fleet tracking, and recently there has been news of the US Justice Department lawyers weighing options of presenting a GPS tracking system use dispute to the Supreme Court.
In August 2010, the U.S Court of Appeals had vacated Antoine Jones’s life sentence quoting warrantless installation of a GPS tracking device in his car. The tracking device produced information that directly linked Jones to a drug store house in Maryland.
During the investigations, the device was put in his vehicle to follow him, without the approval of a judge and this, the court said, Violated Jones’ fourth amendment rights. Ever since then, there has been a Supreme Court mull petition by the lawyers.
Peter Smith, an assistant U.S attorney said the deadline to file the petition had been extended to April 15 2011 from March 18, 2011. The lawyer also said this petition would present a question of law and that there is a chance for four Supreme Court justices to vote for Certiorari. Stephen Lecker, Jone’s lawyer cited incongruity in Obama administration that calls for national privacy legislation and the use of GPS devices to track people’s travel with no approval from a judge.
