Secret GPS Tracking 'Cleared' by US Court Decision

Liberals have always been overly concerned about privacy rights. They have been wringing their hands more than usual lately after a recent decision of the California Federal Court of Appeals upholding the use of GPS trackers by federal agents on a drug conviction case.

The 4th Amendment in the United States Bill Of Rights is often held up by civil liberties groups as something that protects their right to privacy and prevents the police or private investigators from putting tracking devices on vehicles without telling their owners about it.

Oregon man Juan Pineda-Moreno felt he was let down by this amendment after evidence from a GPS tracking device placed on his Jeep without any search warrants was used to successfully convict him for drug trafficking.

The Californian court, which had been asked to hear an appeal, declined to hear the case as the agents placed these devices when the vehicle was on public property.

But is it as much of a disaster as it is made out to be?

Law bodies have always been steadfast in their stand of installing GPS tracking devices on suspected vehicles with or without a warrant.

These devices do wonders in keeping track of the activities of wrongdoers, and they are 80-90% more effective when the person doesn't know that they are being followed.

Private investigators also find these devices very useful. The data obtained from these devices has been used extensively in child custody cases or against spouses, saving their clients thousands or even millions in alimony pay and saving the PI much money in saved wages.

This recent move by the California Federal Court of Appeals is one point on their side.

And will it matter for ordinary citizens, the truth is that the implications are much greater than the probable outcome.

While civil liberty groups may argue that it means that anyone can put a hidden GPS tracker on your vehicle or property when you leave it outside your private property  the truth is that it will probably not be something that needs to be worried about.

However this hasn't stopped civil rights groups from appealing the Federal Court in Washington to reject unwarranted use of GPS tracking devices by private parties and government authorities. Their stand is that law enforcement agencies can only track people after obtaining a search warrant from a judge.

So the message essentially is that this decision is a golden opportunity for people within the law enforcement community and private investigator field but not one that should concern the general public.