NY court: Police need warrants for GPS trackers

Lawyer Blogs

New York's top court ruled Tuesday that police cannot place GPS trackers on suspects' vehicles without first getting a court warrant showing probable cause that the drivers are up to no good.

The Court of Appeals split 4-3 on the issue, with the majority saying the tracker that state police planted on Scott Weaver's van for 65 days starting in 2005 violated his constitutional protections against unreasonable searches.

The ruling overturned both the trial court and a midlevel appeals court. Weaver has been free on bail.

"The massive invasion of privacy entailed by the prolonged use of the GPS device was inconsistent with even the slightest reasonable expectation of privacy," Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman wrote.

Judges Carmen Beauchamp Ciparick, Eugene Pigott Jr. and Theodore Jones Jr. agreed.
They rejected the argument that the satellite tracking device was essentially the same as common police surveillance of vehicles.

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Grounds for Divorce in Ohio - Sylkatis Law, LLC

A divorce in Ohio is filed when there is typically “fault” by one of the parties and party not at “fault” seeks to end the marriage. A court in Ohio may grant a divorce for the following reasons:
• Willful absence of the adverse party for one year
• Adultery
• Extreme cruelty
• Fraudulent contract
• Any gross neglect of duty
• Habitual drunkenness
• Imprisonment in a correctional institution at the time of filing the complaint
• Procurement of a divorce outside this state by the other party

Additionally, there are two “no-fault” basis for which a court may grant a divorce:
• When the parties have, without interruption for one year, lived separate and apart without cohabitation
• Incompatibility, unless denied by either party

However, whether or not the the court grants the divorce for “fault” or not, in Ohio the party not at “fault” will not get a bigger slice of the marital property.

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New York & New Jersey Family Law Matters We represent our clients in all types of proceedings that include termination of parental rights. >> read