Drones v. Right to Privacy

Drone depiction from telegraph.co.uk]

We have all seen how the U.S. military has spied upon terrorists and "brought to justice" many of them in hot spots around the world. But this post does not involve such uses of drones to nail terrorists overseas.

Instead, I want to talk to you about the trend toward widespread usage of drones by law enforcement in the United States. According to various news reports, there will be about 30,000 drones in use in this country by the year 2020. Also, according to a recent survey by the Associated Press and The National Constitution Center, 44% of Americans actually support the idea of police using drones to track and catch criminals. Only 36% reportedly opposed it, according to the survey.

I don't know about you, but as a free citizen in a democratic society, I am alarmed about this trend involving unregulated usage of drones to watch us and about popular opinion in support of it. While I am very supportive of law enforcement using all legitimate tools to catch the "bad guys," (after all, while I presently may be an Augusta, GA criminal defense lawyer, I was a federal prosecutor for over 20 years), I am worried about "Big Brother" abusing this tool to stifle dissent and otherwise to step on our Constitution!

What do you think?

U.S. v. Jones: A Victory for Privacy Rights?

Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court announced an important new decision which should make all believers in freedom and privacy rights breathe a little bit easier.  In United States v. Jones, the Supreme Court held that the Fourth Amendment prohibits the police from using GPS devices to track a suspect's movements without first obtaining a search warrant.  In other words, warrantless use of GPS devices are no longer allowed! 

In the Jones case, the police were investigating a nightclub owner for alleged drug trafficking.  They had surreptitiously installed a GPS device on Mr. Jones' Jeep Grand Cherokee and were tracking his moevements, all without first obtaining a warrant.  The government had argued that no warrant was necessary.  However, the Supreme Court held otherwise and gave new hope to freedom lovers everywhere!

As a former federal prosecutor, (and currently, as an Augusta, Ga. criminal defense attorney), I strongly agree with this important decision!  First of all, I submit that it is not that difficult for police to simply obtain a search warrant in an appropriate case.  Moreover, I believe that, in a free society, in which our privacy rights are constantly being threatened by technology, it is important to see the Supreme Court protect us and stand as a bulwark of freedom!

It will be interesting to see the caselaw develop in this area of the law.  What do you think?