Re: ABC Special \"No Place to Hide\"
I have not seen No Place to Hide... But here is something that I believe dovetails with the show:
Bumper crop for cops: Can secretly attach GPS - judge
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Cops without a warrant can secretly attach Global Positioning System devices to a suspect's vehicle, according to a federal judge - who said using the gadgets is virtually the same thing as following a car along a road.
The decision handed down by U.S. Judge David Hurd in upstate Utica last week could give law enforcement officials another high-tech weapon to catch criminals, but is troubling to privacy advocates.
Hurd ruled that Robert (Bugsy) Moran, a Hells Angel member and defense attorney accused of conspiring to distribute methamphetamine, had "no expectation of privacy in the whereabouts of his vehicle on a public roadway."
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I am not for crime--but this is a very troubling ruling for me... Before, a strong limit on government was the fact that much of what they could do to their citizens was simply too expensive and time consuming. Now there will be no limits on "tagging" citizens like some nature show.
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"Your movements on a highway aren't private," he [Assistant U.S. Attorney David Grable] said. "You don't have a reasonable expectation of privacy, which is a Fourth Amendment test."
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This is just one federal judge's ruling in NY state, and there are other rulings that this amounts to illegal search and seizure--but we are just a few steps from "chipping" people and tin foil hats (i.e., if you implant an RFID tag in somebody and only place the tracking equipment in public areas--not in your home, but the sidewalk outside of your home--then you had no expectations of privacy).
And folks were worried about "black boxes" in many newer cars (that only track your speed, throttle, brakes, and safety equipment operation for a few seconds before an airbag deployment) being used by cops in accident investigations...
-Bill
PS:
Judge Hurd from Cornell:
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David Hurd '59, nominated by President Clinton to be a U.S. District Court judge for the Northern District of New York.
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