United States v. Antoine Jones

United States v. Antoine Jones

Supreme Court of the United States
Argued November 11, 2011
Full case name United States v. Jones
Prior history United States Court of Appeals for District of Columbia Circuit, 615 F.3d 544
Argument Oral argument
Court membership
Chief Justice
Associate Justices
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amend. IV

United States v. Jones (2011) is a case currently under consideration by the Supreme Court of the United States in which the Court is considering the question of whether the warrantless use of a tracking device on a motor vehicle violates the Fourth Amendment.[1] In addition, the Court directed the parties to brief and argue whether the act of installing the device violated the Fourth Amendment as well.[2]

Contents

Background

Police Investigation and Criminal Trial

Antoine Jones and Lawrence Maynard owned a night club in the District of Columbia. In 2004 a joint FBI and Metropolitan Police Department task force began investigating Jones and Maynard for narcotics violations.[3] During the course of the investigation a GPS device was installed on Jones's Jeep without a valid warrant.[4] This device tracked his movements 24 hours a day for four weeks.[5] Jones was arrested and convicted in January 2008 of one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine and 50 or more grams of cocaine base.[6] He was sentenced to life in prison.[7]

Appeal

Jones argued that his conviction should be overturned because the use of the GPS tracker violated the unreasonable search and or seizure provision of the Fourth Amendment.

Oral Arguments

During oral arguments, Justice Alito stated that people's use of technology is changing what the expectation of privacy is for the courts. "You know, I don't know what society expects and I think it's changing. Technology is changing people's expectations of privacy. Suppose we look forward 10 years, and maybe 10 years from now 90 percent of the population will be using social networking sites and they will have on average 500 friends and they will have allowed their friends to monitor their location 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, through the use of their cell phones. Then -- what would the expectation of privacy be then."

See also

References

  1. ^ United States v. Jones United States Supreme Court, Questions Presented, "Whether the warrantless use of a tracking device on respondent's vehicle to monitor its movements on public streets violated the Fourth Amendment."
  2. ^ United States v. Jones United States Supreme Court, Docket 10-1259, "Petition GRANTED In addition to the question presented by the petition, the parties are directed to brief and argue the following question: Whether the government violated respondent's Fourth Amendment rights by installing the GPS tracking device on his vehicle without a valid warrant and without his consent."
  3. ^ United States v. Maynard United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, Opinion p. 16, "Jones owned and Maynard managed the "Levels" nightclub in the District of Columbia. In 2004 an FBI Metropolitan Police Department Safe Streets Task Force began investigating the two for narcotics violations."
  4. ^ United States v. Maynard United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, Opinion p. 38, "The police had obtained a warrant to install the GPS device in D.C. only, but it had expired before they installed it — which they did in Maryland."
  5. ^ United States v. Maynard United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, Opinion p. 3, "...tracking [Jones's] movements 24 hours a day for four weeks with a GPS device [the police] had installed on his Jeep..."
  6. ^ United States v. Maynard United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, Opinion p. 4, " the Government filed another superseding indictment charging Jones, Maynard, and a few co-defendants with a single count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine and 50 or more grams of cocaine base. A joint trial of Jones and Maynard began in November 2007 and ended in January 2008, when the jury found them both guilty. "
  7. ^ United States v. Jones, Petition for a Writ of Certiorari United States Department of Justice Petition p. 2, "respondent was convicted of conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and 50 or more grams of cocaine base, in violation of 21 U.S.C. 841 and 846. The district court sentenced respondent to life imprisonment."