Reference no: EM133400506

Case: Without seeking approval from a judge, FBI agents attached a GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) tracking device to the car of a man whom they suspected of selling drugs. For 28 days, they were able to track every movement of his car and recorded information about every house, store, restaurant, and other locations that he visited. Ultimately, they used this information to raid a house, locate a large quantity of drugs and cash, and subsequently convict the man of drug trafficking, leading to a sentence of life in prison. The FBI agents used this surveillance tactic, on their own, even though it had never been approved by the Supreme Court in any prior case. The FBI agents claimed that agents are always allowed to conduct surveillance on individuals in public places and this form of surveillance did not invade the inside of the suspect's home. When the defendant's attorney challenged the use of the GPS device in court, the attorney claimed that the prolonged surveillance and continuous gathering of data about the suspect were far more intrusive then merely being followed in public by FBI agents. The Supreme Court heard arguments in the case and decided that the use of the GPS device constituted a "search" that required either a judge-issued warrant or a compelling justification to make its use "reasonable" without a warrant. However, the Court left open the question of what specific circumstances, if any, would justify the use of GPS monitoring without obtaining a warrant from a judge (United States v Jones, 2012).

Question:

Using your own opinion and judgment, and information found in chapter four (4) of the course textbook (Cole, Smith, & DeJong, 2015), parenthetically citing at least two sources at a minimum and five at the maximum; discuss whether or not it is proper to invade an individual's life in this way without the approval of a judge? Was it proper to use this method of prolonged surveillance without knowing whether it was legal? Define as an essay (legal opinion) as If you were a Supreme Court Justice. Do you believe that there any situation in which it would be "reasonable" for officers to use this GPS device without first obtaining a search warrant from a judge?