Frank Thompson, Petitioner v. Carl Wilson, Commissioner, Maine Department of Marine Resources

Thompson asks the Supreme Court to review a First Circuit decision that let Maine require federally permitted lobstermen to place GPS trackers on their private boats, even when the boats are not being used commercially. He argues that round-the-clock tracking is a search without a warrant and that the Court's Jones and Carpenter cases should matter outside criminal cases too.

No oral argument is scheduled yet, and the Court has not said whether it will hear the case. The petition says Jones and Carpenter should limit Maine's GPS tracking program, while the First Circuit said special rules for government inspections in regulated industries permit it.

For Maine lobstermen, the rule can mean 24/7 government tracking as a condition of keeping a fishing license. The case could also shape how courts review government inspection programs when they involve constant location monitoring.

It challenges Maine's rule requiring federally permitted lobstermen to install GPS trackers on their private boats. The petition says that round-the-clock monitoring violates the Fourth Amendment outside criminal cases, too.

Maine lobstermen with federal permits are directly affected because tracking is tied to keeping their fishing license. The case also could influence how courts view similar monitoring in other regulatory programs.

The justices must decide whether to grant certiorari (agree to hear the case). No oral argument is scheduled yet, and no decision window is available.