Regarding the question of whether the Monterey County Sheriff’s department can implement a new policy about downloading the information from the black box, in the cars that are in the impound lot. Should the Sheriff’s department have the ability to gather the information of black box that the cars have, that are in the impound lot without a warrant? After careful consideration and reviewing the cases, I would have to say that the Sheriff’s should not be able to gather the information from the black boxes without a warrant. If they do, it would constitute a violation of the fourth amendment. The fourth amendment states that a person has a right from unreasonable searches and seizures. In this case, if the Sheriff were to search the black boxes…show more content… The cars have a black box also, known as EDR, which collects the data of the car. Such as “crash data” or the occupant information, before, during and after a crash. The black boxes are sometimes used to help solve mechanical problems or to also determine a location of the vehicle. Here, the Sheriff’s department would like to gather the information that the cars have in the black box. The car’s are all ready in the possession of the vehicle impound…show more content… The fourth amendment states “the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated”(People v. Jones (2012) 565 U.S. 400). In other words, it means that a person has a right to be protected from unnecessary searches. It gives the person a right to be secure and free from intrusion into one’s own personal property. The main purpose is because a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy; it’s to protect their person. In People v. Jones, Jones an owner of a nightclub and was suspected of drug trafficking. Officers suspected of him trafficking drugs and decided to install a GPS tracking device in the undercarriage of his Jeep, when it was parked in a public space. The GPS was tracking him and collecting the data for four weeks. Since, the government did a physical trespass without a warrant, this constituted a fourth amendment search. Jones had a reasonable expectation of privacy on this location. As for the Sheriff’s case, it involves the cars’ in the impound lot that have been impounded. When a person has their car in an impound lot even though it was taken there due to an accident. A prudent person still has a reasonable expectation of privacy because they have their personal belongings in their car. Therefore, it would constitute a search under the case of
