Jennifer Granick of EFF has a commentary on a recent decision out of Massachusetts discussed here previously. The Supreme Court of Massachusetts recently held that officers may not place GPS tracking devices on cars without first getting a warrant. The case, Commonwealth v. Connolly, was decided under the state corollary to the Fourth Amendment, and…
Tag: Fourth Amendment
Mass. court on GPS surveillance in criminal cases
Stephanie Vosk reports: Police are allowed to secretly place Global Positioning System devices inside the cars of suspects they want to monitor — as long as they have a warrant to do so, the state Supreme Judicial Court ruled yesterday. The decision stems from a case involving Harwich resident Everett Connolly, who was convicted of…
Do police need warrants to search cell phones?
James Nash reports: Police may be able to take cell phones from people they arrest, but that doesn’t give them the right to scroll through call logs in search of incriminating information without a warrant, a defense attorney told the Ohio Supreme Court yesterday. Justices questioned the lawyer on whether it was necessary for police…
Officers’ New Tool Against D.W.I.: Syringe
Associated Press reports: When Officer Darryll Dowell of the Nampa Police Department is on patrol, he will pull up at a stoplight and start casing the vehicle next to him. Nowadays, his eyes will also focus on the driver’s arms, searching for a plump, bouncy vein. […] The thought stems from training he and a…