A new ruling by the Supreme Court regarding GPS tracking of suspected criminals could put several North State cases in jeopardy.
Monday's unanimous ruling by the Supreme Court made it fairly clear that officers will need to get a warrant before putting GPS tracking devices on suspects’ cars, but the biggest question remaining is: How will the ruling impact cases current in the court system?
"It's an investigative tool we've used here in Butte County on numerous occasions," Butte County Undersheriff Kory Honea said.
In fact, there are currently about a half dozen active cases in Butte County where evidence was gathered with the help of GPS tracking. Those include arson charges against a former volunteer firefighter and drug charges against the leaders of an alleged drug trafficking ring.
Shasta County is no different. Prosecutors are taking a closer look at one theft case where the tracking devices were used.
"We are going back and reviewing that case to see if there are any other exceptions to the fourth amendment that might apply." Shasta County Chief Deputy District Attorney Josh Lowery said.
They are looking for those exceptions because the Supreme Court ruled that the use of GPS trackers without a warrant is a violation of the fourth amendment, which guards against unreasonable search and seizure.
"It said essentially that you have to have probable cause, you have to obtain a warrant and it has to be in place before you place a tracker," Honea said.
Honea says his department will not place any of the GPS units without a warrant in the future, but insists the extra paperwork will not stop detectives from tracking criminals.
If there isn't enough evidence to justify the use of a GPS tracker, Honea says detectives can always go back to the surveillance techniques that were used in the days before GPS.
"That doesn't mean we're going to stop using them. We're just going to use them in accordance with the law," Honea said.
Although the ruling was unanimous, there was some disagreement over the rationale behind the decision. There are still some questions about the legality of tracking suspects over short periods of time and the use of information from services like on star or fast track devices used on many toll roads.
