Suspected Engagement in Narcotics Trafficking

Case Brief
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Case Brief
1 Facts
The U.S. government, through the FBI and the Metropolitan Police Department, acting as the plaintiff, suspected Antoine Jones, the owner and operator of a District of Columbia nightclub, herein referred to as the defendant, of suspected engagement in narcotics trafficking. The investigators used various investigative techniques to collect information on Jones’s movements, including that of his property. They installed a GPS device on his car in a public packing space, without his or his wife’s consent or knowledge. After the investigators had obtained sufficient evidence to subject his to trial, they arrested him and arraigned him for trial.
2 Judgment
The court used all the evidence presented, including the GPS evidence, to convict him. Jones had applied to have the GPS evidence declared inadmissible but the court declined, stating that anyone who uses a public road should not expect any form of privacy. However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia reversed the conviction, noting that the warrantless use of the GPS device violated the Fourth Amendment and thus the lower court should have suppressed the evidence obtained through the use of the device.
3 Legal Principle
1 Issue
Whether the FBI and the Metropolitan Police Department violated the Fourth Amendment by installing a GPS device on Jones’s car without his consent or knowledge.
2 Holding
Yes
4 Reasoning
3 General Analysis
According to the U.S. constitution, anyone suspected of crime is liable to constitutional safeguards captured in The Bill of Rights. These rights protect the in...