Yet Another Illegal Government Surveillance Program Exposed
By Derek Gilna
It has been
an open secret that law enforcement has often tracked suspects by targeting
their cell phones, a technology that relied upon electronic tracking via
devices placed in government vehicles.
The revelations of defector and former National Security Agency
contractor Edward Snowden also brought to light the fact that the federal
government has been listening in on cell phone conversations without proper
warrants for years, much to the embarrassment of the federal government.
The newest
government surveillance program involves using “Dirtboxes” placed on government
planes that crisscross the country, looking for “pings” disclosing the location
of suspects, including drug suspects, not just terrorists, whose cell phone
numbers have been entered into a master database. (The proper name for the device is a DRT,
short for Digital Receiver Technology.)
Recent
court cases have shown that the Supreme Court is increasingly wary of this
enhanced warrantless surveillance of American citizens. It has struck down convictions in cases where
agents placed GPS devices on suspect’s
vehicle to track its whereabouts without warrants. Needless to say, it is very likely law
enforcement will go to any lengths to conceal this illegal surveillance not
only from the defendant and his attorney, but probably also government
prosecutors.
I have one
of those cases pending at this time, where the judge has granted a delay in the
progress of the case while a Freedom of Information Request (FOIA) is being
processed by the Justice Department and the DEA. The client’s lawfully-operated truck was
stopped on a country road without any reason given, and within minutes dogs and
a drug task force, complete with sniffer dogs, materialized on this lonely
country road to search for drugs. Do you
believe in coincidences? This case
continues.
Most drug
cases rely upon the testimony of informants, since the government rarely seems
capable of finding illegal drugs without inside help. However, there are cases out there where the
circumstances of the arrest are more than a bit suspicious, leading one to
believe that illegal government surveillance was used to arrest and convict.
Once again,
to gain relief, you are by now well aware that you need someone on your side that
is conversant with the newest developments in criminal defense strategy and
opportunities for sentence relief. Were
you the victim of illegal surveillance?
