ACLU: US Attorney OK'd GPS to track cell phones

[The Sushi Bandit]

Source: AP

The American Civil Liberties Union says the U.S. Attorney's Office for New Jersey under Christopher Christie, now a GOP gubernatorial candidate, tracked the whereabouts of citizens through their cell phones without warrants.

The ACLU says the practice is disclosed in documents released Thursday by the U.S. Justice Department in an ongoing lawsuit over cell phone tracking.

ACLU lawyer Catherine Crump argues that government tracking without a search warrant showing probable cause is a violation of the Constitution. Government prosecutors argue that only a court order showing the tracking information is relevant to a criminal investigation is needed.



Read more: http://www.physorg.com/news159723628.html

[Rabrrrrrr]

1. Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb.

Sorry, but I haven't seen your sig pic on here before!

:rofl:

I love that scene.

As to the thread at hand - of course a GOPer thinks it's okay to surveil people without warrant. That's what their hero Hitler did.

[proud2BlibKansan]

3. They just made this legal in Kansas

following a high profile murder. The cops wanted Verizon to release the victim's cell phone records so they could find her body and Verizon refused. By the time a judge told Verizon to release the records, the cops found the body; she had been murdered long before tracing her cell phone could have saved her.

When I heard about the law I wrote my state rep opposing it. He voted for it and told me the cops could only get the records in an emergency. So I asked him who defines "emergency" and he said the cops do. And I said "and you can't see a problem with that?"

Judges are on call 24/7. Why can't the cops get a judge to issue a warrant?

This really stinks. To high heaven.

[midnight]

5. Yes it does. Hopefully this is reversed.

[Downwinder]

2. How can you know if you are being tracked?

[Aethertek]

4. "How can you know if you are being tracked"

You can't.
Even if your phone has the option to turn tracking off they can still use tower triangulation to pinpoint the phones location.
The only way to assure no tracking is to turn off the phone & remove the battery.

Kevin~

[DallasNE]

6. Upside Down Logic

Government prosecutors argue that only a court order showing the tracking information is relevant to a criminal investigation is needed.

This argument is saying that the government is free to spy on all law abiding Americans. Only when they commit a crime does the government need to bother with getting a Judge to sign a search warrant. This sounds like J. Edgar Hoover keeping files on people just so he could blackmail them. Political enemies, beware. The political incumbent is looking for dirt to smear you with. There is a reason our Founding Fathers drafted then implemented a Bill of Rights. It was to assure that this very activity would be forbidden.

[defendandprotect]

7. I'm in NJ -- saving to read tomorrow -- wow!

[Dogmudgeon]

8. So how would they know that YOU have the phone?

More than just loose association is usually needed to make evidence stick. Once again, it's a matter of how much justice you can buy, only in this case, the cost is uncharacteristically low.

Most criminals communicate with those cheap "disposable" cell phones, anyway.

This sounds like Yet Another Magic Tech Trick that will last all of 30 seconds in a court of law.

--d!

[Orrex]

9. Honestly, I don't know why anyone would think that they *weren't* doing this

When I initially learned that cellphones could be tracked this way, I knew with near-certainty that they would be tracked this way.

[The Wizard]

10. The bloated gas bag Christie

has a few other questionable activities.
Why was his brother not prosecuted in the same investigation that indicted and convicted several others for the same or lesser offenses?
Why did he grant John Ashcroft a no bid contract to do essentially nothing in New Jersey?
Why did he launch an investigation into Senator Menendez just before his election for the United States Senate within sixty days of the election, violating Justice Department guidelines on prosecuting candidates sixty days prior to the election?
Why did Christie keep his job as U.S. Attorney after being fingered by Karl Rove for termination for not prosecuting high profile Democrats?
Christie looks like a hitman from the Sopranos.

[keith the dem]

11. He did target high profile Democrats

He launched a ridiculous investigation of Menendez right before the election.

He prosecuted the hell out of a prominent south jersey democrat for padding his pension, while a republican who did the same thing only had to resign.

He is one fat ugly SOB!!!

[The Sushi Bandit]

12. They can track who goes to a whore-house!

and collect the phone numbers there...

[rcrush]

13. Ah shit!

I'm screwed now!

[hunter]

14. Can I call them up and ask them where my cell phone is?

I'm always losing the damned thing.