With a focus on Fourth Amendment concerns, the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) recently began a series of surveillance primers. The first primers in the series provide information on Automated License Plate Readers, Cell Phone Location Tracking, and Cell Site Simulators. NACDL will periodically release more primers on surveillance technologies. These documents are available to members and non-members here.
Each primer describes what the technology is designed to do, how it is used, and suggested defense strategies to identify and challenge the use of these technologies. The primers discuss law enforcement justifications for their use and provide lists of resources to aid in further research. These are a great starting point to further one’s understanding of these technologies, including determining if they were used in a case.