Sometimes it takes time for our nation’s laws to catch up with technology.

That’s seems to be the case as the U.S. Supreme Court explores law enforcement’s use of GPS tracking. By placing the small devices on motor vehicles, police can now accurately map wherever a vehicle travels.

The high court heard arguments recently, and is expected to rule by spring in a case involving nightclub owner Antoine Jones, who has been sentenced to life in prison on a drug conviction.

A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., threw out the conviction, ruling FBI agents and local police did not have a valid search warrant when they installed a GPS device on Jones’ car and collected travel information over 28 days.

The device helped authorities link Jones to a suburban house used to stash money and drugs.

The issue for the high court is whether police need a warrant before planting such devices on a car.

Certainly, police should have use of emerging technology, including GPS, to do their job as efficiently as possible. But, if a situation is serious enough to need to watch someone electronically day and night, then a judge should have to approve it.

It stands to reason, if a warrant is too bothersome for police to pursue, then a case most likely isn’t that important in the first place.

— The Courier, Findlay, Ohio, Nov. 28