150 pounds of marijuana ruled inadmissible in Kentucky court due to unlawful GPS tracking
|
May 24, 2012
Louisville, Kentucky: In September 2011 Kentucky state troopers stopped 49-year-old Robert Dale Lee as he was driving on I-75. The troopers had been looking for Lee, and they knew what they should look for while examining his vehicle. During a search of Lee's truck 150 pounds of marijuana was recovered.[1][2][3][4]
Though the finding was indisputable, the marijuana has recently been deemed inadmissible in court due to the method by which it was detected and obtained.[1] Troopers knew where to locate Lee and what to look for because Lee was the subject of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, which had placed a GPS tracker on his vehicle. This tracker was placed on Lee's vehicle surreptitiously and without a warrant, which resulted in the ruling from Federal District Court judge Amul Thapar.[1]
Lee is currently still detained at the Laurel County Detention Center and has been charged with conspiracy to distribute marijuana. No trial date has yet been set, and it is currently unknown what action the State will choose to take as its main body of evidence has been struck down.[1]
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 The Chicago Tribune, "Federal judge: GPS use illegal in Chicago-Kentucky drug bust," May 23, 2012
- ↑ Wired, "Pot Prosecution Goes Up in Smoke Due to Warrantless GPS Tracking," May 23, 2012
- ↑ Boston Globe, "US judge: GPS use illegal in Kentucky drug bust," May 24, 2012 (dead link)
- ↑ The Republic, "Federal judge: Authorities illegally used GPS in Ky. drug bust; tosses marijuana evidence," May 23, 2012
| |||||
