Is It Legal To Track Someone’s Car In Indiana?
What You Need To Know About Using Electronic Devices In Indiana
If you are going through a nasty child custody case or believe a spouse might be having an affair then it is very likely you considered using a GPS tracker to gather information. But before you use GPS tracking devices on a personal vehicle or someone else’s car it is important to know Indiana code as it relates to the use of tracking devices. This article will go over the legal and illegal ways of using a GPS device according to Indiana Courts.
Best Vehicle Tracking Device
- Is Your Partner Cheating?
- Are Your Employees Misusing Company Cars?
- Do You Want To Find Out The Truth?
Indiana Code Title 35-31.5-2-337.5.
Police Use Of GPS Trackers In Indiana
First of all, it is important to note that the Supreme Court’s decision on criminal law and procedure as it relates to law enforcement use of GPS monitoring is that probable cause must be established and a search warrant must then be obtained. In the case of United States vs. Jones, criminal defense attorneys stated that the drug crimes against Jones should be dropped because law enforcement did not first obtain a search warrant affidavit, thereby violating Jones’ privacy rights. The Supreme Court agreed with the criminal defense, overruling the circuit court which said that the police were in the right. Criminal charges were dropped and the defense lawyers prevailed.
The court of appeals showed that any police department must acquire a search warrant affidavit before using any vehicle tracking devices. But as long as they do, they can legally track your vehicle without you knowing!
Can I Put A GPS Device On My Partner’s Car In Indiana?
The expectation of privacy is clear when a person is inside their home, but a vehicle tracking device equipped on the outside of their car is not so clear. Are a person’s movements in their automobile as they drive around town really considered a “private space”, and should there be some sort of an expectation of privacy? Unfortunately, the Indiana Supreme Court or the Indiana Court of Appeals has not been clear on this so we will do our best to demystify what is clearly illegal when it comes to GPS tracking laws in Indiana!
Teen Drivers: If your teen has received their license, is under the age of 18, and potentially driving unsafely, you can legally track their vehicle without notifying them.
Spouse Is Cheating: Indiana criminal courts are clear that you cannot enter someone else’s vehicle. But if you equip a tracking device on the outside of their car that is where experienced attorneys could argue that the tracking devices are no different than hidden cameras in the public domain, and therefore should be legal. As long as you 1) equip the GPS tracker to the car while the vehicle is parked in a public setting and 2) do not enter the vehicle, you should be fine. But, this is not legal advice, and you want to be careful to avoid criminal offenses.
Track Employees: The court ruled that as long as you are the registered owner of the vehicle you can legally track it, but some states have required employers to notify employees if they are being monitored with GPS technologies.
Sage is a freelance writer with a background in information technology.
