{"id":5505,"date":"2011-05-02T19:29:09","date_gmt":"2011-05-02T19:29:09","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2011-05-02T19:29:09","slug":"en-US","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/fourthamendment.com\/?p=5505","title":{"rendered":"D.S.C.: Maynard<\/em>‘s reasoning is “attractive,” but this court isn’t going there yet"},"content":{"rendered":"

While \u201c[m]uch of the reasoning in Maynard is attractive,\u201d the court declines to require a search warrant to install a GPS on defendant\u2019s vehicle, copping out to let a higher court [the Fourth Circuit? Ha! SCOTUS will get it first.] United States v. Narrl, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 45595 (D. S.C. April 27, 2011):<\/p>\n

Much of the reasoning in Maynard is attractive. For example, in distinguishing Knotts, the court explained that protracted GPS monitoring of a vehicle\u2019s movements from a computer provides law enforcement with vast amounts of information about a person\u2019s life, by showing law enforcement all of that person\u2019s movements over a long period of time. In contrast, the tracking device in Knotts was less intrusive as it was only useful as an aid to visual surveillance, because law enforcement needed to remain close by in order to receive the signal from the device. In other words, the idea of police attaching a tracking device to a person\u2019s car, without a warrant, and monitoring that person\u2019s movements for an extended period of time is more unsettling than the situation in Knotts where a tracking device is used as an aid to short term visual surveillance.<\/p>\n

In addition to the concerns expressed by the Maynard court, law enforcement in this case could have gotten a warrant pursuant to S.C. Code Ann. section 17-30-140. That statute provides that \u201c[t]he Attorney General or any solicitor may make application to a judge of competent jurisdiction for an order authorizing or approving the installation and use of a mobile tracking device ….\u201d If the application includes certain information about why the tracking device is necessary, and probable cause exists, then the judge \u201cmust enter an ex parte order authorizing the installation and use of a mobile tracking device.\u201d Id. While that statute did not require law enforcement to obtain a warrant before employing the GPS tracking device, it did provide a mechanism for them to obtain a warrant. The better practice in this case would have been to obtain a warrant.<\/p>\n

However, even though this case presents a difficult decision, Knotts is clear that the use of a tracking device to track a person\u2019s movements on public roads is not a violation of that person\u2019s Fourth Amendment rights. Knotts was not limited to any particular technology and the tracking device in this case was only used to observe the vehicle\u2019s movement on public roads. Therefore, no search in violation of the Fourth Amendment occurred.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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