United States v. Jones
United States Supreme Court
Attaching a GPS tracking device to a vehicle and monitoring its movements on public roads constitutes a "search" under the Fourth Amendment, requiring a warrant.
Case Summary
United States v. Jones held that the government's attachment of a GPS device to a suspect's vehicle and its use to monitor the vehicle's movements for 28 days constituted a Fourth Amendment search.
Background
The FBI and D.C. police suspected Antoine Jones of drug trafficking. Without a valid warrant, agents attached a GPS tracking device to his vehicle and monitored its movements for 28 days.
Why It Matters
Jones reopened constitutional debate about long-term surveillance and the aggregation of data. Justice Sotomayor's concurrence warned that GPS monitoring generates a comprehensive record of a person's public movements.