Civil Rights
Block on Trump's Asylum Ban Upheld by Supreme Court
Happy Monday, everyone. We're kicking this week off with four more Supreme Court opinions, most notably a decision in the warrantless GPS tracking case, U.S. v. Jones.
Today, the Court ruled that the government executed an unreasonable search when it attached a GPS tracking device to a suspect's car, and tracked the car for 28 days without a warrant.
While the Court was unanimous that warrantless GPS tracking constitutes an unreasonable search, the Nine were split as to why it was an unreasonable search.
Justice Scalia, writing for the majority, wrote that physical trespass upon the vehicle -- attaching the GPS tracker to the undercarriage of the car -- triggered the unreasonable search. Justice Alito, joined by Justices Ginsburg, Breyer, and Kagan, authored a concurring opinion, arguing that warrantless GPS tracking, regardless of physical trespass, should be deemed unreasonable, reports ARS Technica. Alito notes that the government doesn't have to physically trespass upon a vehicle to track its movements; it could remotely activate a stolen vehicle detection system to track the vehicle's movements instead.
Justice Alito makes a good point, which, no doubt will arise in a future case.
The other three Supreme Court opinions issued today are:
Wrapping up today's Supreme Court news, no additional petitions were granted.
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