Announcing a LANDMARK LEGAL VICTORY today in the Third Circuit appeals court (a court just under the U.S. Supreme Court) involving the intersection of technology and constitutional issues which no federal appeals court had yet decided. Mr. Cipparone litigated the case from start to finish and thereby has helped shape the evolution of constitutional law.  The court ruled in our client’s favor that the FBI-directed search of a van based on use of a GPS tracker affixed to the van without a search warrant violated the 4th Amendment. All the seized evidence is inadmissible at trial, which effectively means all charges will be dismissed.  Mr. Cipparone also successfully argued that our passenger client could challenge the evidence despite not owning the van (normally a bar to such a challenge) because when the van was stopped it was a seizure of his person triggering the 4th Amendment.  The decision enforces a constitutional right that protects EVERYONE from reckless unconstitutional searches, as the court noted:  “Where an officer decides to take the Fourth Amendment inquiry into his own hands, rather than to seek a warrant from a ... [judge]… he acts in a constitutionally reckless fashion.”   The appeals court concluded that if the police conduct here was allowed, then "the police could intrude upon anyone’s Fourth Amendment rights without fear of suppression . . . .”  Read the full 116 page court opinion here: Official Court Opinion