Fourth Amendment Survives!

Our freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures in the digital age has survived.  A case was just overturned by the Supreme Court in which a man was sentenced to life in prison for "conspiring to sell cocaine" after police placed a GPS tracking device on his car and followed his movements for 28 days.  The only evidence they had was that garnered from the GPS device.  The final ruling essentially said that the police violated this man's expectation of privacy by placing the device on his car without a warrant.  From here on out, if any GPS devices are to be used to track suspects in order to ascertain their whereabouts over a period of time, police or any government agency must first obtain a warrant.  The ruling, while not specifically applied to other digital surveillance devices at this time (such as public video cameras, Onstar location services, or any other digital information), can be applied to them if the need arises in the future.  Expectation of privacy in the digital age is a new frontier that is just now being investigated and ruled on.  Personally, I am glad that limits are being placed on law enforcement officials in regards to their surveillance techniques.  If the ruling had gone the other way, in effect allowing police to track anyone at anytime for any reason without their knowledge, our country would have moved drastically towards a police state.  (To read the article off of which I am basing today's blog, follow this link to the NYTimes.)

The U.S. is largely known for the freedoms it espouses on its citizens.  Many things have changed since our founding fathers wrote our Constitution and the bill of rights, yet the wisdom with which they wrote them allows us to translate them into any age, under any circumstances.  They are simple statements, meant to protect the citizens of this country from the often times over reaching hand of the government.  Our founding fathers envisioned a country with a small government, in place to protect its citizens without intruding into their personal lives.  Since our country was founded, the government has consistently grown, especially over the past century, to be this behemoth that seeks to control more and more of our lives.  The beauty of our system, its checks and balances (while seemingly not always functional) allows us to challenge authority and as in this latest case, win.  While we may not always agree with the verdicts that the Supreme Court issues, or their rulings on laws and various other grievances, they have shown that they are still a potent and necessary ruling body when it comes to the rights we have as citizens of the United States.  Over the course of our history, there have been many times when the Supreme Court has come to the rescue of U.S. citizens, and this case is no different.  We can now cherish our freedom a little more and be free from worry about over intrusive law enforcement. 

Don't get me wrong, law enforcement plays a vital role in securing our safety and maintaining order in our society, yet there must be constant re-evaluations of their procedures and practices if we are to ensure our ongoing freedom and rights.  As it is, the ruling does not say police can't use GPS devices and other digital information for their surveillance, they must simply obtain a warrant before doing so.  Obtaining a warrant means they must show enough proof or evidence that it is necessary before proceeding.  This vital step ensures that our expectation of privacy is not impinged upon and that we can live our lives as we see fit within the confines of the law.  I applaud the Supreme Court justices for their due diligence in translating the fourth amendment into the digital age.  There is now a basis for which to refer to when other issues arise regarding our freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures.  Let us only hope that they continue to uphold our freedoms and our rights as United States citizens.