Sergeant Bob
Member
Monday, May 12, 2003
Court will decide if police need warrant for GPS 'tracking'
By KATHY GEORGE
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
William Bradley Jackson worried that he hadn't properly concealed his victim's shallow grave. So he snuck away one quiet fall day to finish the job, unaware that sheriff's deputies had secretly attached a satellite tracking device to his truck.
Police trickery triumphed over his treachery.
Spokane County sheriff's investigators used the hidden device to retrace Jackson's path to the gravesite, where they found crucial evidence that would lead to his murder conviction in 2000.
But what if the same secret technology, called global positioning satellite tracking, could track anyone at any time?
The Washington Supreme Court will decide soon whether police agencies throughout the state may use the device freely -- without a warrant. The Jackson case is the first in the state dealing with the issue.
Here's the rest of the story
Court will decide if police need warrant for GPS 'tracking'
By KATHY GEORGE
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
William Bradley Jackson worried that he hadn't properly concealed his victim's shallow grave. So he snuck away one quiet fall day to finish the job, unaware that sheriff's deputies had secretly attached a satellite tracking device to his truck.
Police trickery triumphed over his treachery.
Spokane County sheriff's investigators used the hidden device to retrace Jackson's path to the gravesite, where they found crucial evidence that would lead to his murder conviction in 2000.
But what if the same secret technology, called global positioning satellite tracking, could track anyone at any time?
The Washington Supreme Court will decide soon whether police agencies throughout the state may use the device freely -- without a warrant. The Jackson case is the first in the state dealing with the issue.
Here's the rest of the story