Appeals court rules on GPS tracking in N.J. divorce case

Forget hiding in the bushes. A New Jersey court has given the “green light” to using GPS to catch a cheating spouse.A woman in the Garden State suspected her husband was cheating, so she hid a GPS tracking device in the glove compartment of his car. Two weeks later? Busted pulling out of another woman’s driveway.  The husband sued, saying his privacy was invaded. A state appeals court just ruled against him.Peter Halden, a New Jersey family court attorney, explained, “There are certain things that we do as human beings that we expect privacy in. And there are obvious ones: bathroom functions, conversations. But then there are other things that we do where we expect that the public will be viewing us. And one of those things is driving a car.” Halden says that when you drive to a mall, a baseball game, or even a mistress’ house, your whereabouts are fair game. Now its just technology doing the work instead of a private eye. “Rather than hire someone with a camera who goes around and takes pictures outside the motel room, put a GPS on,” said Halden.  “It’s non-invasive, it’s inexpensive, and it probably yields reliable information if not to the who, at least to the where.” Halden warned, though, that discovering a spouse is cheating won’t change alimony, distribution of assets, or child custody.