Marijuana and Cannabis News
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The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Kentucky State Police found the cannabis in a car belonging to 49-year-old Robert Dale Lee near Lexington in September 2011 because they used the GPS tracking device to follow him without a warrant authorizing it, concluded U.S. District Judge Amul R. Thapar, reports Brett Barrouquere of The Associated Press.
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| U.S. District Judge Amal R. Thapar |
Lee is charged with conspiracy to distribute marijuana, but it looks like the case against him just took a huge hit now that there's no weed.
The U.S. Supreme Court in unanimous decision in January struck down the police use of GPS devices without search warrants. That decision -- in what was likely the biggest Fourth Amendment case of the computer age -- rejected the Obama Administration's position that American citizens have no right to privacy in their public movements.
Because Lee's case predated that decision, the outcome remained in doubt until Judge Thapar's decision.
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12 comments
I was looking forward to read about it. 150 Pounds MarijuanaBarred from Evidence Because Of GPS is a good post at all. I love this article.Thanks for this allocation. :P
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Next: Police Drones—RecordingConversations In Your Home & Business To Forfeit Property?
Police are salivating at the prospectof having drones to spy on lawful citizens. Congress approved 30,000 drones inU.S. Skies. That amounts to 600 drones for every state.
It is problematic local police willwant to use drones to record without warrants, personal conversations insideAmericans’ homes and businesses: Consider the House just passed CISPA therecent Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act. If passed by the Senate,CISPA will allow——the military and NSA spy agency (warrant-less spying) onAmericans’ private Internet electronic Communications by using so-called(Government certified self-protected cyber entities” that may share with NSAyour private Internet activity, e.g. emails, faxes, phone calls andconfidential transmitted files they believe might relate to a cyber threat orcrime—circumventing the Fourth Amendment—with full immunity from lawsuits ifdone in good faith. CISPA does not clearly define what is an element orself-protected cyber entity, that could broadly mean anything, e.g. a privatecomputer, local or national network, website, an online service.
Despite some cities and countiesbanning and restricting police using drones to invade citizens’ privacy, localpolice have a strong financial incentive to call in Federal Drones, (CivilAsset forfeiture sharing) that can result from drone surveillance). Should(no-warrant drone surveillance evidence) be allowed in courts circumventing theFourth Amendment, for example (drones’ recording conversations in private homesand businesses, expect federal and local police civil asset propertyforfeitures to escalate. Civil asset forfeiture requires only a preponderanceof civil evidence for federal government to forfeit property, little more thanhearsay: any conversation picked up by a droneinside a home or business, police can take out of context to institute arrests;or civil asset forfeiture to confiscate the home/business and other assets.Local police now circumvent state laws that require someone be convicted beforepolice can civilly forfeit their property—by turning their investigation overto the Federal Government that can rebate to the referring local policedepartment 80% of assets forfeited. There are more than 350 laws and violationsthat can subject property to government asset forfeiture that have nothing todo with illegal drugs.
Consider: if CISPA is passed byCongress it will provide Government, police and government contractors (withoutwarrants) the incentive (to take out of context) any innocent—hastily writtenemail, fax or other Internet activity to allege a crime or violation wascommitted to cause a person’s arrest, assess fines and or civilly forfeit abusiness or property. U.S. Government can use CISPA to (certify any employee)including employees that work for a Government certified cyber self-protectedentity—opening the door for certified employees to spy on their employers andclients. U.S. Government is not prohibited from paying any person includingGovernment Certified Self Protected Cyber Entities, Elements or CertifiedEmployees part of government forfeited assets or other compensation that resultfrom the aforementioned providing U.S. Government a corporation’s confidentialinformation or clients’ private information—that otherwise would require a warrant.U.S. Government currently contracts on a fee/commission basis with SelfProtected Cyber Entities, Elements and Contractors that have securityclearances to participate in facilitating arrests and Government assetforfeitures.
Currently Government can't use evidenceobtained through illegal Internet searches of e.g. private emails andtransmitted files without a warrant, however that will change if CISPA or asimilar bill is passed by Congress. Since CISPA, two additional cyber-securitybills have been created in the Senate called, “The Cyber Security Act of 2012”and “SECURE IT Act”. Both bills appear unconstitutional; appear designed tocircumvent the Fourth Amendment. The Cyber Security Act of 2012 formally knownas S. 2105 was created by Senate Democrats, Joe Lieberman and Susan Collins.Similar to CISPA, the Cyber security Act of 2012 would abolish legal walls thatstop Federal government and private companies sharing information.
The SECURE IT Act: S. 2151 wasintroduced by Senate Republicans on March 1st 2012: would require federalcontractors to alert government about any cyber threats, forcing suchcommunications between government regulators and corporations. The SECURE ITAct authorizes sharing of persons’ private Internet information (without awarrant) going beyond what is necessary to describe a believed cyber threat.SECURE Act fails to create a regulatory system at the Federal level to overseecyber-security threats opening the door for a person or businesses’confidential information to be misused and misappropriated by governmentagencies and private cyber entities.
Government should be prohibited fromusing independent contractors, created non-profit organizations and so-call(certified self protected cyber entities) to circumvent the Fourth Amendment.Corrupt police, U.S. Government Agencies and Government Contractors may tooeasily use private Internet transmissions, emails and transmitted files it isfree to collect without a warrant to extort corporations, politicians andCitizens; or sell confidential information gleaned from warrant-less InternetSurveillance. Confidential Information in corrupt hands can be worth more thanillegal drugs.
Likey the suspects will never get the weed back. Just because the weed is inadmissible doesnt mean the cops have to return it.
Most definitely not going to happen. I have only heard of it one time and the man had 72 hours to dispose of it.
1 Like
Well, now this is a judge with a brain cell, no warrant, no bust ! That is how it is supposed to be. Wonder who gets to smoke the 150 lbs of dope, the judge or the cops? In NYC for a long time the only way to sell drugs was to cut in the cops, get your shit from them, that they got from the evidence room, then they never busted you. The drug war is a fucking joke that should never have happened in the first place. It is still a joke but the joke is now on decent people. Our hard earned tax money is going into the pockets of thugs! Legalize, educate, regulate, & tax the shit out of it. Just like alcohol & tobacco. If a person wants to stick a needle in their arm & cash out - who cares. Just don't rob or kill anybody to do so. OD, wink out, problem solved!
