Pry the GPS Tracker Off Your Car? Ep. 6.128

welcome once again to Latos law here's Steve late Oh interesting story out of Indiana cents me by Joe ah thank you very much and here's the deal let's suppose the police put one of those GPS trackers on your car and didn't tell you and you're walking on your car when you spot it and you hey there's a GPS tracker on that car you look at it there's nothing on it to indicate who put it there could be the police could be a disgruntled ex spouse could be a weirdo okay so you remove it did you break the law by removing it I would argue and say you didn't but the police in Indiana would argue otherwise and this recently went before the Indiana Supreme Court justices question warrant search over GPS tracker Nicki Kelly wrote the article Jolla sent it to me Indiana Supreme Court justices were downright skeptical Thursday when listening to oral arguments but whether removing a police placed GPS tracker is theft and therefore a reason for law enforcement to search your home case said of Warwick County it's a rare interlocutory appeal meaning it's being taken in the middle of a case instead of after a conviction Derrick Horan is trying to get drug evidence tossed out that police found when they went to search for the GPS tracker in July 2018 justice Marc massa said I'm not looking to make things easier for drug dealers but I have an obligation to leave it on and let them track me and I am also then subject to a search of my home if the thing falls off the car for instance just as Steven David added that he is struggling with the idea that his theft to find a device on your car and simply place it on your own kitchen table and he noted there's nothing on the device saying it belongs to the police that's a problem he said I'm really concerned about this police initially received a warrants to place a tracker on her earrings car based on a confidential informant tip which of course is another problem because if there are confidential informants whose identity is never revealed how do I know the police just don't make that stuff up you know I mean it's it's it's it's a problem there - the battery was at 100% when it stopped sending a signal to satellite according to court records a technician told police the device could have been unplugged and plugged back in for it to stop working police observe the car in a barn and police thought the barn could be obstructing the signal when the car was back at her Ann's house police checked and found that the device was gone so in other words they went out and put it on his car once and later they went out and checked his car to see it was still there based on those facts the police got a second warrant for both his home and the barn for the tracker while searching the barn police found a drug pipe in a drawer police then received a third warrant and eventually found the tracker in a locked locker in the bathroom of the barn at the home police found two bags of methamphetamine pill scales and a gun her ring was charged with seven felonies the justices questioned whether a person is required to leave the tracker in place it also noted that though police suspicions were confirmed the tracker could have fallen off or simply malfunctioned so they could put a broken tracker on your car and say hey it stopped sending a signal let's go search the house you know Chief Justice Loretta rush pushed specifically for wear in the warrant goes proof of theft or unauthorized control Deputy Attorney General Jesse Drum said the theft charge might not stand up under the beyond-a-reasonable-doubt burden but the level needed for a warrant is only a fair probability of evidence of a crime but again what's the crime if you find something stuck to your car and you remove it that's a crime the Deputy Attorney General also said there is no obligation to leave the tracker on but if a person removes it that is theft why why would it be theft it doesn't make any sense he said it's because it deprives police of its use which is to track the vehicle but wait I have to let them track my vehicle like that in that case why don't they tell me why did they say I'm putting this tracker on your car you have to leave it there drum also noted that if it had simply fallen off a signal would have continued unless it fell off in the roadway got run over by another car or the car itself that it was stuck to I hate when people make stupid arguments like that I don't know why just bleep bugs me Drumm noted if it had simply fallen off it would have continued instead it went dark for 10 days then police checked in was they applied for a warrant he and others noted the police committed no misconduct and a judge approved of the warrants each stepped away yeah judges approved stupid warrants all the time judges also proven warrants when police officers lying put put dumb stuff on warrant applications when they file for a warrant I've seen the affidavit that was used to get the arrest warrant for Timothy masters Timothy masters the guy spent 10 years in jail for a murder he didn't commit and the warrant application was filled with lies and later on they sought to prosecute the police officer who filed it and he lucked out because the statute of limitations had run because he committed perjury and the problem of course is that to get into that level of fight on something costs a fortune and you know Tim masters was so busy trying to get himself out of prison that he also wasn't spending his time trying to get the original warrant thrown out or to have the original cop prosecuted for perjury so Drumm says the evidence should be allowed under a long-held good faith exception at the end of the oral arguments massive question - turning Michael Keating who represents a defendant may ask - noted that justice has put the Deputy Attorney General through the paces and was Keating's turn if we come out the other way aren't we sending a message to drug dealers to just throw it in the river may I ask how does that help six million law abiding people Keating said one possibility is to identify trackers belonging to police and with a number to call then if someone throws in the river it's a clear case of theft because they knew who it belonged to but he didn't have to answer for whether citizens should have left you know have to leave it in the car it had cleared belongs to police and the court will rule in the coming weeks or months and I would be a firm believer in the idea that if you find a tracker on your car I said let me put it to you this way I'll get in trouble for saying the other way cuz people misconstrue if I found a tracker on my car that was not identified as being from law enforcement I would pry it off and stick it in the corner of my garage and leave it there and that way if the police wanted to do they could come over and look in there and see where it isn't golf there it is they can stick it back in the car but they wanted to a trip back off again if I found it and I don't think that that's an unreasonable course of action now if they wanted to keep that from happening they could put property of the police department on it was a phone number to call if if found call this number and I might call the police tonight yeah I found this thing on my car what's up with that and if they put it back on my car without telling me I just start driving the other car now you might say Steve not all of us have two cars yeah but I you know this this one really bugs me really bugs me I understand the police been allowed to tap phone lines for a long time police have been allowed to intercept phone calls for a long period of time police have been allowed to intercept things inspect things search things do all those things but when they put a tracker on your car and you find it and there's a physical thing stuck to your car and there's nothing to indicate who put it there who's to say it wasn't put there by your disgruntled ex spouse it could have been I think it's perfectly reasonable to say gee I don't know who put that there that's weird or maybe you wrap it in tinfoil and leave it there see what that does I don't know what that'll do but anyways we'll see what happens this is on Indiana of course and if the Indiana justices rule I will update this video but I'll have to let you know at that point in time that that would only be Indiana law however they rule and they might not rule on the overall big picture of whether or not the police can continue to do this were putting unmarked GPS trackers on cars within the state of Indiana they might just simply rule on whether or not the underlying search warrants they were issued on this we're any good but hopefully they'll give some insight in their recognizing what a hot topic this is and I remember reading articles Wired magazine back many many years ago when they first came out and they're talking about federal agents placing trackers on vehicles and I seem to recall story out west where a guy saw somebody in plain clothes messing with his car and so later he went out and he found the guy placed a tracker on there again the tracker had no identification on it the guy pried it off and I seem to recall he got in trouble also he's like how do I know who that guy is some guys tampering with my car and he sticks something on it I've gotta let people tamper with my card oh that's absurd that's absurd so I understand that the you know the bind that it puts law enforcement in but remember that we're all innocent until proven guilty and so I think that the benefit of the doubt should go in favor of the person who says gee I saw some guy messing with my car and stick something on it I the right to pry it off unless it actually says this is a property of the Fresno Police Department you know if found call them I'd call them say yeah look what I found on my car you know at that point your cover's blown anyway so what's the use so there you go Jolla thinks a story Indiana thanks for the fascinating case questions your comments put them below the wise talks later bye-bye you

Channel: Steve Lehto

Views: 826,263

Rating: 4.9253902 out of 5

Keywords: lemon law, michigan lemon law, indiana supreme court, gps tracker, http://www.lehtoslaw.com, steve lehto

Id: jr3rPt3CUZU

Length: 9min 51sec (591 seconds)

Published: Mon Nov 18 2019