Symposium of the Virginia Professional Investigators and Security Association

James will be serving as the keynote speaker at the 2012 Symposium of the Virginia Professional Investigators and Security Association on March 23, 2012, at Virginia Beach, VA. James will provide an update on the 2012 Session of the General Assembly of Virginia and will detail the ramifications of the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in the case of U.S. v. Jones.

General Assembly Update

As the registered lobbyist for the Private Investigator's Association of Virginia, the Virginia Professional Investigators and Security Association, and Investigative and Security Professionals for Legislative Action, James worked to successfully defeat House Bill #807. The Bill would have prohibited private investigators from utilizing ectronic tracking devices, even with the consent of the owner. It failed to report from the Senate Courts of Justice Committee by a vote of 9-6. The Bill would have substantially exceeded the restrictions recently imposed by the the U.S. Supreme Court case of U.S. v. Jones, which opined that the use of GPS tracking devices is permissible so long as such use is with the consent of the owner of the personal property to which the device is attached. Had HB #807 passed, it would have inflicted substantial, and unnecessary, harm to the private security profession and would have thwarted investigations aimed at saving lives.

U.S. v. Jones: The U.S. Supreme Court Issues a Decision on Warrantless Use of GPS Tracking Devices by Law Enforcement

In an opinion dated January 23, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that both the government's attachment of a GPS tracking device to the undercarriage of a vehicle and the subsequent use of the device to monitor the vehicle's movements constituted a search under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and, as such, required a warrant. Although the Fourth Amendment prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures applies to the government, not private investigators, the Supreme Court's ruling that an individual has an expectation of privacy in the undercarriage of their vehicle, to which the GPS tracking device was affixed, was significant in that it amounted to a trespass. The Court left for another day a determination of whether continued advances in technology might remedy its concerns, stating, "it may be that achieving the same result through electronic means, without an accompanying trespass, is an unconstitutional invasion of privacy, but the present case does not require us to answer that question." As a result of this decision, it is important for private investigators to limit the use of GPS tracking devices to circumstances in which they can obtain the owner's consent, such as with a business owner who wishes to have the device installed on a fleet vehicle.

Private Security Services Advisory Board

James has been asked to serve on the Private Security Services Advisory Board's Sub-committee on Personal Protection Specialists. He will assist the sub-committee in addressing legal issues facing this specialized profession.

Philip Becnel, President of the Private Investigators Association of Virginia ("PIAVA"), presents James Towey with a PIAVA coffee mug after James served as the guest speaker at PIAVA's November 2011 meeting.