In Commonwealth v. Rushing, 2013 PA Super 162 (Pa. Super. 2013), the Pennsylvania Superior Court held that, under the Pennsylvania Constitution, law enforcement needs a search warrant, supported by probable cause, to track a subject in “live” or in “real time,” the only exception for the warrant being where, as in the instant matter, exigent circumstances make obtaining the warrant impractical.
The opinion discusses federal and state constitutional and statutory requirements as well, and applies Pennsylvania state constitutional precedent properly, as befits the Superior Court’s role as an intermediate appellate court. The opinion, however, and those upon which it relies, lead one to wonder: What privacy, if any, can a person claim to enjoy regarding his or her whereabouts?
