Legal Brief: New SCOTUS Case Hits Close to Home for Integrators

Types : Bylined Articles

The Supreme Court is deciding who owns location data, which figures to impact the access control and surveillance systems you install.

Many years ago, as a Judge Advocate General (JAG) for the U.S. Air Force, I led an investigation into a recruiter who had inappropriate relationships with two female high school recruits – a crime under military law. Using creative investigative techniques, we tracked the suspect to a specific computer lab in a college dormitory where he had no legitimate reason to be. Confronted with the evidence, he confessed and pleaded guilty. Justice was served.

The case was resolved in 2000, when cell phone use wasn’t ubiquitous, and communications networks were primitive by today’s standards.

We had to work hard to place that suspect in that room. Today, law enforcement wouldn’t have to work nearly as hard as we did, and that’s exactly what the U.S. Supreme Court is considering.

Surveillance Technology in Focus for SCOTUS

A geofence warrant is a type of reverse search warrant in which the government seeks to identify who was within a defined physical area during a specific period of time.