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Supreme Court case exposes confusion over GPS tracking

By Paul Marks

16 November 2011

SHOULD police in the US be able to attach a GPS location tracking device to someone’s car without having a search warrant? For many Americans that is a frightening thought. But depending upon the outcome of a case that began in the US Supreme Court last week, it could become a reality.

The US government brought the case after an appeals court overturned Antoine Jones’s conviction for running a drug-dealing ring. The Washington DC nightclub owner had been sentenced to life in jail based on evidence of regular trips to and from a property containing a massive cocaine stash. This evidence was gathered by a…

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