An editorial in today’s New York Times shines a light on ongoing privacy suits that seek to determine the legality of whether police can attach GPS devices to vehicles without judicial oversight.

Courts at various levels have ruled differently about the legality, and the Supreme Court has yet to address this issue. The highest courts of three states — New York, Oregon and Washington — ruled that their state constitutions prohibit the police from installing GPS devices without a warrant. But some lower courts, including the Chicago-based Seventh Circuit ruled that a warrant is not required for remote surveillance by a GPS device, although it said that if the police began to use the technique on a large scale it might violate the Fourth Amendment.

While GPS technology has been around for some time, the accuracy and capability have steadily increased. It will be interesting to follow how the Fourth Amendment is protected as the law evolves.

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