FC: Cops don't need warrants to bug vehicles, Nevada high court says

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

The Nevada Supreme Court has said police may plant tracking devices on or 
underneath people's cars without a search warrant. The decision is here:

http://www.leg.state.nv.us/scd/118NevAdvOpNo32.html
> "...in order for an unreasonable search or seizure to exist, the 
> complaining individual must have a reasonable expectation of privacy, 
> which requires both a subjective and an objective expectation of privacy 
> in the place searched or the item seized. Here, we conclude that Osburn 
> had neither a subjective nor an objective expectation of privacy in the 
> bumper of his vehicle."

This is a disturbing decision. It refuses to acknowledge what most 
Americans consider to be commonsense privacy rights. But it is not the 
first of its kind.

In 1999, the Ninth Circuit said pretty much the same thing, when deciding 
the Fourth Amendment's prohibition on unreasonable searches and seizures 
does not apply. In that case, cops trespassed on Christopher McIver's 
property, planted a GPS bug under his Toyota 4Runner while it was parked in 
his driveway, followed him around for a while, then arrested him on 
marijuana charges. See:

http://cl.bna.com/cl/19990818/9830145.htm
> "McIver did not present any evidence that the placement of the magnetized 
> tracking devices deprived him of dominion and control of his Toyota 
> 4Runner, nor did he demonstrate that the presence of these objects caused 
> any damage to the electronic components of the vehicle. Under these 
> circumstances, we hold that no seizure occurred because the officers did 
> not meaningfully interfere with McIver's possessory interest in the Toyota 
> 4Runner."

-Declan

---

From: "paul music" <pmusic () mmcable com>
To: "DeClan" <declan () well com>, "Brad Henschel" <attorneys2 () aol com>
Subject: Nevada High Court: Police Can Hide Monitoring Devices on Cars 
Without Warra
Date: Fri, 26 Apr 2002 22:47:14 -0500


Apr 25, 2002


Nevada High Court Says Police Can Hide Monitoring Devices on Cars Without 
Warrant

By Brendan Riley
Associated Press Writer

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - The Nevada Supreme Court ruled Thursday that 
police can hide electronic monitoring devices on peoples' cars without a 
warrant for as long as they want.

The 5-2 majority opinion, written by Justice Deborah Agosti, said attaching 
the device to the bumper of a Las Vegas man's car to track his movements 
did not constitute unreasonable search or seizure under Nevada's Constitution.

[...]

This story can be found at : http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGAQRYEHH0D.html




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