GPS Tracking Data Not Prohibited by Exclusionary Rule Because of Officer’s Good Faith

Evidence gathered from a GPS tracker device is admissible because it was collected before United States v. Jones, which required police to obtain a warrant for GPS tracking

United States v. Mitchell, 2016 BL 210529, 10th Cir., No. 15-3006, 6/30/16.

   The Tenth Circuit found that GPS evidence collected before the United States v. Jones decision was admissible in court. The ruling follows similar decisions from other jurisdictions, including the Fifth, Seventh, Eight, and Ninth Circuits. Only the D.C. Circuit has taken the opposite view.

   Before Jones, police did not need a warrant to collect information from a GPS tracker attached to a suspect’s car. Moreover, there was existing case law allowing the use of similar electronic tracking devices, such as electronic radio transmitters that attach to vehicles. The court recognizing the legality of the search before the Supreme Court decision stated, “[W]e think a reasonable officer could be forgiven for thinking, prior to Jones, that existing appellate precedent authorized him to install and monitor a GPS device on a private vehicle without a warrant.”

https://www.bloomberglaw.com/public/desktop/document/United_States_v_Mitchell_No_153006_2020_BL_210529_10th_Cir_June_3?1467818975