GPS data at issue in Peterson case

CNN.com/Law center ^ | Tuesday, February 17, 2004

[runningbear]

GPS data at issue in Peterson case

Scott Peterson is charged with killing his pregnant wife, Laci, and their unborn son.

GPS data at issue in Peterson case

Judge to hear defense request to sequester jury

Tuesday, February 17, 2004 Posted: 0544 GMT ( 1:44 PM HKT)

REDWOOD CITY, California (CNN) -- Prosecutors and defense attorneys in Scott Peterson's murder trial are due in court again Tuesday to argue whether information gathered from tracking Peterson's vehicles by satellite after his wife disappeared should be admitted as evidence.

Peterson, 31, is charged with killing his pregnant wife, Laci, and their unborn son. Their bodies washed up separately on the shore of San Francisco Bay in April 2003.

After Laci Peterson vanished in late December 2002, police in the couple's hometown of Modesto placed global positioning system devices on three vehicles used by Scott Peterson to track his whereabouts. GPS devices use satellite technology to pinpoint locations.

A prosecution witness testified last week that the GPS devices, despite briefly malfunctioning at least four times, accurately tracked Peterson to San Francisco Bay.

Peterson told police he was fishing in the bay December 24, 2002, the day his 27-year-old wife disappeared, and had launched his boat from the Berkeley Marina. The bodies washed ashore a few miles from the marina.

Prosecutors said the GPS evidence is circumstantial but indicates that .......

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Court considers introduction of GPS data

Article Last Updated: Tuesday, February 17, 2004 - 3:43:18 AM PST

Court considers introduction of GPS data

Modesto police used satellite device to track Scott Peterson

By Jason Dearen, STAFF WRITER

REDWOOD CITY -- Prosecutors in the Scott Peterson double-murder trial will continue arguing today that data from a satellite tracking device during the Modesto police's surveillance of Peterson should be allowed as evidence.

Not only could the data be important for the prosecution's case against Peterson, the debate being heard in the Redwood City courtroom will influence the future use of Global Positioning Systems, or GPS, by California law enforcement agencies.

"This is the first case where it's been challenged, and it will set the precedent one way or the other," said Michael Seigel, a former assistant U.S. attorney in Florida and a professor at the University of Florida's Levin College of Law.

Seigel said GPS technology has been admitted as evidence in other states and in some federal cases because, to this point, it has not been challenged.

Police installed the tracking device on vehicles driven by Peterson after his wife disappeared and before his arrest. At a hearing Wednesday, prosecutors presented maps that showed Peterson's alleged visits to the Berkeley Marina in the days and weeks after Laci disappeared.

At this point only the prosecution and defense know how the evidence will be used, and both sides are under a gag order and cannot comment. But some legal experts have said the data might be used by prosecutors to show that Peterson returned to the marina to see if the bodies had floated to the surface.

Defense attorney Mark Geragos pointed out three separate glitches in the data and argued that the information should not be allowed as evidence because the technology is flawed.

The prosecution is expected to call as a witness today a representative from Orion Electronics, the manufacturer of the device used by Modesto police.

Geragos spent most of Wednesday's hearing grilling the prosecution's first witness, Peter Loomis, a staff scientist for Trimble Navigation, a maker of GPS technology.

While Loomis bolstered the prosecution's case by testifying that, despite the brief malfunctions, the devices are scientifically sound, Geragos had him on the defensive much of the day.

Other issues to be decided by Delucchi before jury selection begins include: .........

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

GPS debate continues today in Peterson trial

GPS debate continues today in Peterson trial

By Michelle Durand, Daily Journal Staff

Judge Al Delucchi is expected to hear final testimony today about whether global positioning technology should be allowed as evidence in the Scott Peterson murder trial or if it is “fatally flawed” as the defense claims.

Delucchi’s decision, which will come after experts for both sides testify, will determine the admissibility of the tracking data. Prosecutors hope to use the data to show Peterson’s movements after police began eyeing him as a suspect in the disappearance of his pregnant 27-year-old wife, Laci, from the couple’s Modesto home.

If allowed, the evidence could be used to show that Peterson traveled to an area north of Fresno — the town where Peterson’s mistress lived — and to the Berkeley marina where the bodies of his wife and the couple’s fetus were eventually found. It would also be the first time the technology would be used in a California court.

If Delucchi agrees with defense attorney Mark Geragos, a jury will not hear about the tracking devices and what data was collected. Geragos argued last Wednesday that the systems are “fatally flawed” and lost track of his client two separate times. Geragos also wants prosecutors to tell the court where on Peterson’s vehicles the tracking devices were attached.

If the GPS ruling is given today, decisions will follow on whether to sequester the jury and if two separate juries are needed for the guilt and penalty phases. Prosecutors filed motions last week opposing Geragos’ request for both. The rulings must be completed before jury selection can begin in the capital murder trial. Delucchi has said he hopes to begin picking a jury within two weeks.

Other pre-trial motions remaining including the admissibility of dog tracking evidence and the testimony of a witness who was hypnotized.

If convicted of killing his wife and unborn son, 31-year-old Peterson faces........

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[runningbear]

for today's court hearing Scott Peterson Trial.

[runningbear]

Pinging for hearing today....

[runningbear]

Pinging for hearing today....

[Tijeras_Slim]

"Hello, Onstar, how can I help you?

"How many pounds of cement do I need to weigh down a body?"

"About 100 sir, and thank you for using Onstar."

[Constitution Day]

"About 100 sir, and thank you for using Onstar."

Unnamed sources say that Scotty is completely behind the current boycott of OnStar.
"Because of privacy concerns?", you might ask?

No, because they gave crappy advice! ;)

[Grampa Dave]

So that will be a new On Star commercial?

You are really good when you are really bad.

[Grampa Dave]

Thanks for the ping. This is really interesting.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Good morning Grampa! :)

[Grampa Dave]

Good Morning!

Your great humor shared with us on this thread, is what makes FR so much fun when we read the news on FR. We get the real story with some great humor weaved in the replies.

[blackdog]

It can't be admitted as evidence. The same idea that it could be used to prosecute could be twisted in future crimes to establish locations which could prove innocence falsly.

All you would have to do is let an accomplice drive your car to Vegas or Tahoe while you whack someone in LA, and then use the Onstar data to clear you.

Any Onstar data, short of a video establishing who is at the wheel with a time/date stamp would be reasonable doubt either way IMHO.

[templar]

I'm not clear on whether the GPS tracker was installed with or without a court order. Anyone know?

[XHogPilot]

Wow, GPS is unreliable - somebody better tell the FAA!

Let's see, last week we flew 263 people up our West Coast, into Canadian airspace, then Alaska, across the Bering Straits into Russia, international airspace controlled by North Korea, and completed the 5214 nautical miles in 12 hours 27 minutes of precision GPS navigation by landing in Seoul Korea (plus or minus 33 feet).

Not reliable at all, not sir... /sarcasm

For inquiring minds:
KSFO RBL J1 OED J501 TOU J523 YZT J502 ANN J195 KBA LAIRE J711 HBK J133 ANC J111 OME YUREE G212 GA B337 ODORA B233 DE B467 KAE G597 DARBU RKSI

[libstripper]

Not necessarily so. People who are traveling do many other things beyond just driving, like purchasing meals and renting lodging. If done with a credit card, all of this leaves a remarkably clear paper trail, often with signed credit card slips along the way, which provide additional evidence to verify that a particular person was driving a particular vehicle at a given time.

Also, if the only evidence of a vehicle's driver's location is GPS data, other information about where that person was and who had access to her vehicle could be introduced to support or refute the assumption that she was driving the vehicle.

Finally, on the issue of GPS itself, I have it on my vehicle and it is uncannily accurate, usually within about 50 feet. Government agencies also consistently use it when the want to establish the accurate locations of buildings and other facilities. For example, the Tennessee Valley Authority, for which I worked before retiring, used and uses GPS fixes to locate and identify each of its many buildings for Federal energy reporting purposes.

[Devil_Anse]

That's why they accompanied the GPS with a person following him.

[Devil_Anse]

They got court orders to place the tracking devices.

[IYAS9YAS]

I have a Garmin Geko 101 (cheapie model) and it often gets me within 9 feet or less of my intended target (Geocaching). Thing cost barely more than $100.

[blackdog]

My airplane uses GPS and I'm quite aware of it's use.

When I'm scud running and flying an unpublished approach into my airport, my transponder is turned off, thank you!

And yes....The credit cards, toll booth cameras, mini-mart gas purchases, and such go without saying.

That known, every technology can be thwarted with common sense and low-tech methods. The more and more law enforcement becomes dependant on such tactics, the easier it will be to beat them.

Imagine a task force trying to pin something on a suspect and they are trying to establish that he travelled from LA to Reno and back. They would merely review all the video tapes of gas stations along the routes. But what if the suspect kept a few Gerry Cans of gasoline in the vehicle, allowing him or her to go thousands of miles without a fill? Swap plates on a car randomly at a hospital or shift working business. Use them for a few days and then swap them back. Shift workers are useful. They won't even notice unless plates were just missing. They won't even notice changed numbers.

Any traffic cameras use plate numbers.

Use shot noise generators to trash any evesdropping devices or wireless transmissions. They cost a few bucks to make.

The same technology used to prosecute you can be turned around to cover-up for you. A strong defense can be mounted by using technology to exhonorate you if you know how to go about it.

[blackdog]

GPS on my airplane is accurate to within about 20 feet per deflection increment. A localizer and glideslope indicator are accurate to within about five feet per increment at the middle marker and about two feet per increment after the inner marker beacon.

GPS is great for universal use, but when things are really foul, nothing beats the localizer. Strictly analog devices though.

[Freedom2specul8]

"A prosecution witness testified last week that the GPS devices, despite briefly malfunctioning at least four times, accurately tracked Peterson to San Francisco Bay."

I want this to be allowed in so bad..but where does the privacy laws start and end?

[blackdog]

If you find the bandwidth the GPS is using, you can stomp it out from right inside the vehicle. I used to have a real problem with a comm radio which would stomp out the whole panel when the microphone was keyed. GPS, LORAN(C), ADF, and VOR/Localizers would just go haywire. When things got busy in the cockpit on occasion I hated a busy radio because it took about fifteen seconds for all the Navigation devices to come back to normal after each transmission.