Court gives victory to dope dealer?

Washington Times:

Ruling that federal agents erred in attaching a satellite tracking device to a vehicle without a search warrant, a federal appeals court Friday reversed the life sentence of man accused of running a major Washington drug ring.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District found that the government's use of GPS technology to track the defendant Antoine Jones's Jeep violated the Fourth Amendment.

Civil liberties groups that aided in the appeal of Jones, whose case involved the largest cocaine seizure in city history, called the ruling an important legal victory for privacy rights.

The three-judge ruling called the GPS information key to the federal prosecution of Jones, who owned Club Levels in Northeast Washington across the street from the Metropolitan Police Department's Fifth District headquarters.

"The GPS data were essential to the government's case," the court ruled. "By combining them with Jones's cell-phone records the government was able to paint a picture of Jones's movements that made credible the allegation that he was involved in drug trafficking."

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I do not like this case. If the police had set up physical surveillance they would have got the same data and the court would not have reversed. I also object to the exclusionary rule anyway. If there is an issue of whether the police acted improperly, submit the matter to the jury and let them decide whether to let a guy go who they believe to be guilty.