by Jared Woodfill, Attorney, Woodfill Law Firm, PC
Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued orders throughout the Chinese COVID-19 pandemic that trampled citizens’ constitutional rights. He also refused to convene the Texas Legislature, thus abusing the separation of powers. According to the Texas Constitution, only duly elected Legislators have the authority to vote on laws related to the Chinese COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, Gov. Abbott chose to legislate via executive orders while our elected representatives were quarantined in their homes.
Adding insult to injury, Gov. Abbott and the Texas Department of Public Health recently committed $295.3 million of taxpayer money to enter into a contract to bring contact tracing to Texas. Contact tracing is “a core disease control measure employed by local and state health departments…for preventing further spread of COVID-19.”
The contact tracing methods should concern every citizen. The main mechanism contact tracers use is cellphone GPS data to trace individuals and groups to a particular location. Simply put, Gov. Abbott gave a green light to track citizens using their cell phone GPS. Let’s be clear, it’s not cell phones governments are tracking, it’s people.
According to the Abbott contract, the contact tracers “contact” individuals testing positive for COVID-19 and determine who they have come into contact with while possibly infectious. The contact-tracers identify anyone who may have come into contact with the possibly infected individual, then use their authority to force them to get tested and engage social isolation or self-quarantine. Those who dare to refuse to comply are threatened with fines and/or incarceration under the Texas Health and Safety Code.
In addition to the cell phone tracking, the State could ultimately use infrared technology to “look” inside private homes and buildings to determine the number of people who are gathered. These infrared devices are so precise that they can identify a single person in a home. These highly intrusive techniques are more suitable to a George Orwell novel than for a governor tasked with protecting people’s constitutional rights.
If this sounds disturbing to you, it should. The good news is that people from all across Texas are standing up to Gov. Abbott and his tyranny. Numerous lawsuits have been filed representing Texans challenging Gov. Abbott’s unconstitutional and unprecedented abuse of power during the Chinese COVID-19 pandemic.
The use of cell phones by government entities to geo track citizens is not new, nor is it an unsettled issue. Although it may be legal for a hospital or university to purchase such data from a cell phone provider for research purposes, it is NOT lawful for the government to use the data from data scientists to track individuals without a warrant — even if that data comes from a third party. In Carpenter vs. U.S., the U.S. Supreme Court held that a government entity MUST have a warrant to use cell phone data to geo track someone, even when that data comes from a third party. We believe Gov. Abbott’s conduct amounts to warrantless surveillance and violates, among other things, our Fourth Amendment rights.
For government officers to use cell phone data or infrared technology to track people, express permission is required from each person or a warrant for every single individual. Without express permission, that tracking is an unlawful search and seizure. If our officials use this technology for contact tracing without warrants, regardless of where the data comes from, it will be tantamount to legal negligence. Given the recency of these Supreme Court cases, I believe it is likely that Gov. Abbott will lose a civil rights challenge.
The taxpayers of Texas should not be forced to waste precious tax dollars on warrantless surveillance done under the auspices of public health. Gov. Abbott should have a greater respect for the privacy and civil rights of the people of Texas. “We the People” must demand that Gov. Abbott refuse to use this technology for any form of Chinese COVID-19 contact tracing and abandon the $295.3 million dollar contract that violates our civil rights.