Police in Delaware may soon be unable to use global positioning systems (GPS) to keep tabs on a suspect unless they have a court-signed warrant, thanks to a recent ruling by a superior court judge who cited
famed author George Orwell in her decision.

In striking down evidence obtained through warrantless GPS tracking, Delaware Judge Jan R. Jurden wrote that "an Orwellian state is now technologically feasible," adding that "without adequate judicial
preservation of privacy, there is nothing to protect our citizens from
being tracked 24/7."

The ruling goes against a federal appeals court's decision last summer that allowed warrantless tracking by GPS.