State v. Weaver -or- Security v. Privacy

A recent ruling by the Court of Appeals for the State of New York highlights the law's ongoing efforts to balance security and privacy interests in a world of ever-increasing technological innovation. In State v. Weaver, police, without a warrant, surrpetitiously attached a GPS tracking device to the undercarriage of Mr. Weaver's van. The device was used to track the movements of the van for a period of 65 days. The majority of a divided court determined that the use of a GPS device without a warrant constituted an illegal search and ordered that the evidence gathered using the device be excluded. The majority decision was based on New York's state constitution, as the U.S. Supreme Court has yet to rule on the use of GPS devices for tracking purposes. The opinion is here. An article discussing the decision is here.