The government claims right to subvert Constitution before the Supreme Court.

In a shameless display of police-state mentality, government lawyers argued before the Supreme Court saying the government has the right to use GPS tracking to follow anyone and everyone. After all, they said, the government can always physically follow people and get the same result.

The only difference is GPS can track millions of people at once; surveillance can only track a few at most.

A growing number of cases involve government’s use of technology to oppress the people. Technology is used from everything to seize PayPal account information to arresting hackers. Here it was used to destroy a man’s life.

Hello Fourth Amendment

In a more sane historical period, the Supreme Court would reject the government’s arguments out of hand because they are out of hand.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated; and no Warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Arguments that technology does the same thing as physical government agents fails because technology is in this case and in others to violate the constitutional rights of Americans. The fourth Amendment means the government cannot lawfully troll through the population or through people’s lives to find out when somebody does something the government doesn’t like.

About the case

Without a warrant, during 2005, the Washington D.C. police and the FBI conspired to attach a GPS tracking device to belonging to Antoine Jones while it was parked in a lot. Although the police had obtained a warrant to install the device, that warrant had expired before police installed the GPS device.

Also, the warrant stipulated the device would be attached to the car in D.C., but the police did it while the car was in Maryland.

For about a month, the FBI and the police tracked Jones as he visited several locations of ill-repute and finally arrested him based on his supposed intent to distribute narcotics.

Justifying the illegal

The illegal activity of the police and FBI was admitted into federal court, but only the GPS data taken from Jones’ car while on public streets. Jones was convicted on the evidence and sentenced to life in prison.

Shock: Appeals Court affirms right to privacy

Jones appealed his case and won.  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said that Jones had a reasonable expectation of privacy while he was in his car. Therefore, the court said the police should not have used the tracking device without a valid warrant.

On to the Supreme Court

Unhappy with the random act of justice perpetrated by the Court of Appeals, the Obama regime’s Justice Department took the case to the Supreme Court. The court agreed to hear the case in June 2011, and heard arguments in November, 2011.

Why this is important

Many people don’t have a problem with a supposed thug going to jail for the rest of his life because he sold drugs. Therefore many don’t have a problem with Jones’ Fourth Amendment rights being trampled on by the American Police State.  However, when the shoe is on the other foot, the same people who would let Jones rot in prison would be crying foul.

GPS devices could be installed on anyone’s car at any time, leaving citizens vulnerable. Furthermore, the government has banned the rights of Americans to defend themselves against GPS violations. However, the government can jam GPS signals.

The fact that Jones’ rights were violated have no bearing on whether he committed a crime. The government must be forced to honor the Constitution. When it ignores the Constitution, it should be corrected and restrained. Otherwise, it will continue to spiral out of control without any restraint at all.

The Supreme Court will issue its decision in 2012.