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A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that police need a warrant based on probable cause to attach a GPS device to a suspect's car. The Supreme Court ruled last year that attaching a GPS device to a car qualifies as a "search" under the Fourth Amendment, but the justices stopped short of declaring that police need a warrant. The Third Circuit Court of Appeals held Tuesday in a two-to-one decision that attaching a GPS device to a car without a warrant is an "unreasonable search," and therefore unconstitutional. The decision involved a man, Harry Katzin, who was under suspicion of...

In 1991, George Holliday filmed the LAPD’s arrest and beating of Rodney King. The videotape provoked national controversy. If a similar incident happened today, it might provoke something else: the arrest of George Holliday. Cell phones and cameras with video-recording capability have become ubiquitous. This has led to an increase in the filming of police officers, which has led to a backlash: Cops have begun arresting those who film them, on charges such as interfering with an investigation—even when the filmer is not interfering and the officer is not investigating. In one now-famous example, motorcyclist Anthony Graber’s helmet cam was...

We partnered with Wired to bring you a peek inside an FBI car-tracking device. The device is similar to the one Yasir Afifi found underneath his car. If you're curious where this one came from, Wired has posted a writeup about Karen Thomas, the woman who found this tracker under her car. They've also posted a video of Kyle doing the teardown. The device comprises of a GPS unit for receiving the car's position, an RF transmitter for relaying your location to the interested authority (aka the FBI), and a set of sweet D-cell batteries that power the whole enchilada....

GPS And Taxes: An Intrusive Combination The Washington Dispatch ^ | July 18, 2003 | Cathryn Crawford Posted on Friday, July 18, 2003 7:07:28 AM by Cathryn Crawford GPS And Taxes: An Intrusive Combination by Cathryn Crawford Jul 18, 2003 Some things just aren’t that shocking anymore. Oregon, the state known for its law that fines you for speaking out against a public worker or a state official, has a new socialistic program in mind. It’s a dream come true for the government, both state and federal, in that it not only promotes the idea of Big Brother, but it...

Idea for road-use tax is expected to hinge on odometer readings, then GPS tracking, to replace revenue lost to fuel efficiency. With gas-tax revenues plummeting, the state of North Carolina is looking seriously at taxing motorists for how far they drive. If the “road-use tax” is implemented, it would at first be simple – with the state checking your odometer annually and taxing you based on how many miles you have driven. But transportation experts say new GPS technology could allow the state to charge people different rates based on when and where they drive, in an attempt to manage...

First, they hand us our Obama-approved tire gauges. Next, they police our odometers. Fresh from North Carolina, here’s the latest Nanny State proposal: Monitoring our odometers and taxing us accordingly. With gas-tax revenues plummeting, the state of North Carolina is looking seriously at taxing motorists for how far they drive. If the “road-use tax” is implemented, it would at first be simple – with the state checking your odometer annually and taxing you based on how many miles you have driven. But transportation experts say new GPS technology could allow the state to

While the exact details are still being ironed out, Gov. Kulongoski's web page gives the basics of the plan. In it he states, "As Oregonians drive less and demand more fuel-efficient vehicles, it is increasingly important that the state find a new way, other than the gas tax, to finance our transportation system." He is creating a task force "to partner with auto manufacturers to refine technology that would enable Oregonians to pay for the transportation system based on how many miles they drive." Key studies were performed in 2006 and 2007 that indicate that such a program would indeed...

Two years ago, when the FBI was stymied by a band of armed robbers known as the "Scarecrow Bandits" that had robbed more than 20 Texas banks, it came up with a novel method of locating the thieves. FBI agents obtained logs from mobile phone companies corresponding to what their cellular towers had recorded at the time of a dozen different bank robberies in the Dallas area. The voluminous records showed that two phones had made calls around the time of all 12 heists, and that those phones belonged to men named Tony Hewitt and Corey Duffey. A jury eventually...

The warrantless use of a global positioning device on a vehicle by police does not violate a driver's right to privacy under either the U.S. Constitution or the New York state Constitution, an upstate appeals panel decided last week. In becoming what it said was the first state appeals court in New York to address the issue, the Appellate Division, 3rd Department, panel determined that the privacy expectations of individuals under both the federal and state constitutions are lower when they are in their automobiles than when they are in their homes. "Because we recognize the diminished expectation of privacy...

Someone was attacking women in Fairfax County and Alexandria, grabbing them from behind and sometimes punching and molesting them before running away. After logging 11 cases in six months, police finally identified a suspect. David Lee Foltz Jr., who had served 17 years in prison for rape, lived near the crime scenes. To figure out if Foltz was the assailant, police pulled out their secret weapon: They put a Global Positioning System device on Foltz's van, which allowed them to track his movements. Police said they soon caught Foltz dragging a woman into a wooded area in Falls Church. After...

Someone was attacking women in Fairfax County and Alexandria, grabbing them from behind and sometimes punching and molesting them before running away. After logging 11 cases in six months, police finally identified a suspect. David Lee Foltz Jr., who had served 17 years in prison for rape, lived near the crime scenes. To figure out if Foltz was the assailant, police pulled out their secret weapon: They put a Global Positioning System device on Foltz's van, which allowed them to track his movements. Police said they soon caught Foltz dragging a woman into a wooded area in Falls Church. After...

Gas prices were too high and we weren't green enough. Fine, buy an electric car or gas saving car and all is fine. Right? Wrong. The Oregon Governor thinks gas taxes are going away. His answer? Tax the miles you drive. Tax the miles you drive with GPS technology. Think they are kidding? They're not.

State officials say Minnesota is working on a pilot program to test the idea of charging drivers for each mile they drive. Other states around the country are considering a vehicle mileage tax, as revenues from the gas tax are expected to decline.

Massachusetts may consider a mileage charge By GLEN JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer Tuesday, February 17, 2009 A tentative plan to overhaul Massachusetts' transportation system by using GPS chips to charge motorists a quarter-cent for every mile behind the wheel has angered some drivers. "It's outrageous, it's kind of Orwellian, Big Brotherish," said Sen. Scott Brown, R-Wrentham, who drafted legislation last week to prohibit the practice. "You'd need a whole new department of cronies just to keep track of it." But a "Vehicle Miles Traveled" program like the one the governor may unveil this week has already been tested — with...

There is a slow but steady encroachment on our privacy by government. It often comes with rational and admirable cover terms for a hidden agenda. A recent comment by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, during his conformation hearings, broached the subject of taxing car mileage based on GPS tracking. An immediate hue and cry went up from privacy organizations which saw it as an Orwellian intrusion. It was dropped like a hot potato by the White House. The EU is currently looking at another

WATERBURY — Although they don't often advertise the fact, police are using GPS tracking devices to keep tabs on suspects by attaching the gadgets to their cars. But that clandestine technique is under fire. Civil liberties advocates are challenging a New York court ruling that police aren't required to obtain court warrants before they secretly affix the devices to cars. Six nonprofit associations, including the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, are appealing that decision, the outcome of which is expected to set a precedent for privacy rights. GPS tracking devices are inexpensive and take less than a minute to...

Republican Senator Judd Gregg was Obama’s first choice for the Secretary of Commerce post, and Gregg was actually considering joining the Obama team, until he found out that control of the US Census was being stripped from the Commerce Department and placed under the direct control of White House Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel. Then, the same week that Americans learned that they were “domestic terrorists” – at least according to Obama’s new DHS (Department of Homeland Security), – if they own a bible, a pocket Constitution or guns, and still believe in Life, Liberty and Freedom, - they also...

Republican Senator Judd Gregg was Obama’s first choice for the Secretary of Commerce post, and Gregg was actually considering joining the Obama team, until he found out that control of the US Census was being stripped from the Commerce Department and placed under the direct control of White House Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel. Then, the same week that Americans learned that they were “domestic terrorists” -- at least according to Obama’s new DHS (Department of Homeland Security), -- if they own a bible, a pocket Constitution or guns, and still believe in Life, Liberty and Freedom, - they also...

Well, now we know why ACORN got 5 Billion$ from CommuPorkulus I and why the White House took control of the US Census Bureau. A perfect excuse to start tagging homes in America for the next Census scheduled for 2010, though it directly violates Sec. 223, Title 13, U.S. Code, Chapter 7, Subtitle 2 which provides the Fed NO authority to GPS paint your front door. It is in direct violation of the Constitution and no one is doing anything to stop it (surprised? They allowed 5.2 Trillion in new spending). ACORN signed on as a national partner with the...

According to one of the Census workers, who spoke with me on condition of anonymity, they must GPS mark the coordinates “within 40 ft of every front door” in America and they are supposed to complete that mission nation wide, within 90 days, by the end of July 2009.