위치추적장치(GPS단말기)를 이용한 수사와 영장주의 - 미국과 일본의 판례를 중심으로 -

This paper reviewed several US and Japanese court cases regrading law enforcement's use of GPS tracking as search and seizure. Vehicle GPS tracking and cellular phone location tracking are new methods of surveillance. GPS tracking and other technologies may cause dangers to individual privacy. The US Supreme Court recently reviewed the Fourth Amendment constitutionality of warrantless GPS tracking. The US Supreme Court held that the installation of a GPS tracking device onto a suspect's car constitutes a search and therefore could require a warrant. The Osaka District Court in Japan ruled that information collected by police via GPS devices without a warrant cannot be accepted as evidence because it is an illegal invasion of privacy. This is a case in which the Osaka Prefectural Police installed GPS devices in 19 cars for about six months to investigate a theft suspect and his accomplices, without obtaining a warrant. The district court determined that the investigation significantly violated privacy rights. This ruling may have been the first court decision in Japan declare such investigations illegal. Individual privacy concerns occurs when police use new methods of technology without warrant and collect information in which an individual has a reasonable expectation of privacy. The author of this paper argues that legislation which reflects advances in science and technology is needed to regulate warrantless use of GPS devices by police.