GPS tracking has been available now for decades. The Global Positioning System (GPS) project was started by the U.S. Department of Defense in 1973, and the full constellation of 24 satellites used by GPS receivers became operational in 1993. The system was designed to provide greater convenience and precision of navigation and location. Civilian use of GPS became popular in the mid 1990s. At first, people wanted to know where they were. But it wasn’t long for people to then want to know where other people were at.
Do you know where your children are?
In the 1970s and 1980s– long before widespread civilian use of GPS tracking devices– there used to be an ominous question asked before the late night news. A popular public service announcement (PSA) on local TV would ask, “Do you know where your children are?” One creepy example from 1977 was a spot on the NY station WNEW-TV asking ominously, “It’s 10pm. Do you know where your children are?” In 2003, WKBW in Buffalo New York asked, “It’s 11 o’Clock, do you know where your children are?” Apparently children could stay out an hour later in Buffalo. But the best one of these PSAs had to be Grace Jones, looking fabulous in 1979:
All joking and kidding aside, there is absolutely nothing inherently wrong with wanting to know where your children are at. It’s a primal instinct to want to protect your children. To know where they are at. To make sure they are safe from harm. After all, they are the most important thing in your life, and knowing where they are at makes it more likely you can keep them safe from harm. It would seem obvious we’d want to keep track of our children at least as diligently as we keep track of our stuff. Consider that every package you order from Amazon, box you ship via UPS, or letter you receive via FedEx has a tracking number, and those numbers will provide you data from GPS tracking technology.
In an article titled, “GPS Tracking Device Market worth $3.7 billion by 2025,” MarketsandMarkets estimated that the driving force (no pun intended) behind increasing sales of GPS tracking devices was commercial drivers, vehicle fleet owners, and fleet management services providers. Business owners want to track where their vehicles are at. Rental car companies and insurance companies also want to know how fast you are going– and whether you are driving safely. So many of these companies use GPS tracking device to monitor your driving habits.
What about your spouse’s car though? Can you use GPS tracking in Oregon to see where they are at all times? Does it matter if you’re still married? What if you are separated or going through a divorce? Moral or ethical issues aside– including the creepy stalking factor– is it legal to track someones car in Oregon with a GPS?
Recognizing a problem with discrete GPS tracking devices being placed on cars, the Oregon legislature passed a law in 2017 banning the use of GPS tracking devices on vehicles, without the consent of the owner of the motor vehicle. The statute reads as follows:
ORS 163.715 -Unlawful use of a global positioning system device
(1)A person commits the crime of unlawful use of a global positioning system device if the person knowingly affixes a global positioning system device to a motor vehicle without consent of the owner of the motor vehicle.
(2)(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this subsection, unlawful use of a global positioning system device is a Class A misdemeanor.
(b)Unlawful use of a global positioning system device is a Class C felony if, at the time of the offense, the person:
(A)Has been previously convicted of stalking under ORS 163.732 (Oregon’s stalking statute), violating a court’s stalking order under ORS 163.750 (Oregon’s statute on violating stalking protective orders) or committing an equivalent crime in another jurisdiction; or
(B)Is the subject of a citation issued under ORS 163.735 (Oregon’s statute on the issuance of citations), an order issued under ORS 30.866, 107.700 to 107.735 or 163.738 or another court order prohibiting the person from contacting another person.
(3)This section does not apply to:
(a)A police officer who affixes a global positioning system device to a motor vehicle pursuant to a warrant or court order; or
(b)A person who affixes a global positioning system device to a motor vehicle operated by a motor carrier.
(4)As used in this section:
(a)“Global positioning system device” means an electronic device that permits the tracking of a person or object by means of global positioning system coordinates.
(b)“Motor carrier” has the meaning given that term in ORS 825.005 (“Motor vehicle” means any self-propelled vehicle and any such vehicle in combination with any trailing units, used or physically capable of being used upon any public highway in this state in the transportation of persons or property, except vehicles operating wholly on fixed rails or tracks and electric trolley buses. “Motor vehicle” includes overdimension vehicles or vehicles permitted excessive weights pursuant to a special authorization issued by a city, county or the Department of Transportation).
(c)“Police officer” has the meaning given that term in ORS 133.525.
Using GPS Tracking Devices in Oregon Divorce Cases
Clearly the statue passed by the Oregon Legislature was most concerned about stalkers using GPS devices to stalk their victims. They made such use of GPS devices a felony. But what about non-stalking cases, where one spouse wants to keep track of the other– perhaps because they suspect cheating? Or what about a divorce case where jealousy isn’t the driving factor motivating tracking, but one party simply wants to know where a very significant family asset is (e.g. an SUV titled in the name of both parties, or the family RV)? As you can see from the statutes, the owner of the vehicle needs to know that the vehicle is being tracked. Curiously, the legislature did not make illegal the tracking of a purse, briefcase, backpack, luggage, clothing, or other personal articles.
Probably the best thing to do before tracking your spouse or personal property and assets in an Oregon divorce case is to consult with an attorney. There are a few reasons for this:
- The divorce attorney may be able to have more objective insight as to your motivation for tracking someone or something, and whether it’s appropriate in the context of your case. Oregon is a no-fault state. Therefore the suspicion that your spouse may be cheating on you– or even the fact that they have entered into a new intimate relationship with another person– isn’t typically relevant in an Oregon divorce case.
- Your divorce lawyer may have other ways to lawfully determine what your spouse has been up to. Are they out late at night and leaving the children home alone? Are they selling assets from the marriage? These records may be available from text messages, emails, and even cell phone tracking data– all which can be obtained without violating Oregon’s anti-stalking statutes or ORS 163.715– Oregon’s statute concerning unlawful use of a global positioning system device, detailed above.
- Finally, if you’re working with an experienced Oregon divorce attorney, their insight as to how a judge might see your activities could be very helpful. If you can’t convince your own attorney that what you are doing is necessary and proper, you probably aren’t going to convince a judge that what you were doing was reasonable.