GPS Expert Witness
GPS records show up in more cases than most attorneys expect, and this evidence is misread more often than most attorneys realize. I analyze GPS location data from mobile devices, apps, and platforms to tell you what the evidence actually supports and the level of uncertainty involved.
I’m Mark McFarland, a licensed Professional Engineer with a graduate degree in telecommunications engineering and over 30 years working directly with GPS and wireless systems. If your case turns on where a device was, when, or what a GPS dataset shows about someone’s movement, speak with a licensed engineer who has extensive training, experience, and knowledge in GPS evidence.
What I Analyze
GPS Location History
From GPS-enabled devices and connected apps, including Google location history, I tabulate, map, and analyze location data over periods ranging from a single day to several months, depending on what the case requires. I’ve opined on GPS records from a variety of sources, including Lyft, Uber, Snapchat, Google, Garmin bicycle computers, court-ordered ankle monitors, US Postal Service package tracking scanners, ski-tracker apps, mobile phones, and cellular carrier records.
Rideshare and App-Based GPS Data
Lyft, Uber, and App-Based GPS Data – Platform-logged GPS data from rideshare and delivery apps is a growing part of my caseload, particularly in litigation involving driver conduct and passenger safety. In these cases, the technical questions include whether the data are reliable, or the data show a vehicle was moving, stopped, or deviated from an expected route.
Where This Evidence Commonly Gets Misread
GPS data is often treated as if it were perfectly precise, when in fact it always carries some margin of error that depends on the device, the environment, how the data were logged, and other factors. I map and analyze records from any device, app, platform, or hardware that provides GPS logs. I present the uncertainty in the data, and explain what can and cannot be learned from the GPS records.
Discuss Your Case
Fifteen minutes covers the engineering question, any conflicts, and whether my background fits. No charge, no obligation.
My Process
- Initial call. You describe what the case needs, and I tell you directly whether GPS analysis is likely to help.
- Records review. Once retained, I review the available device data or platform logs.
- Mapping and analysis. I build out the location and timeline picture the data supports, data point by data point.
- Ongoing communication. You hear what I’m finding as I go, including if the data doesn’t support the theory of the case.
- Report and testimony. If requested, I prepare a clear and illustrated report a judge or jury can follow. I’m available for cases nationwide.
Why Attorneys Retain Me for GPS Cases
- Deep, current experience across device types, apps, and platforms, going back to the early 2000s, long before GPS was built into mobile phones.
- I am available for both plaintiff and defense attorneys, which keeps my analysis grounded in what the data show.
- I have reported, mapped, and testified on GPS records from: mobile phones, cellular carriers, Google Location History, Garmin bicycle computers, ankle monitors, USPS package tracking scanners, fleet vehicles, and various mobile phone apps, including Lyft, Uber, Snapchat, and skier-tracking apps.
- Nationwide licensure. My NCEES Engineering Record lets me take on cases outside Colorado or California without a licensing delay in most jurisdictions.
- I’ve never had an opinion limited or excluded. No Daubert challenge has ever succeeded against me.
FAQs
I have reported, mapped, and testified on GPS records from: mobile phones, cellular carriers, Google Location History, Garmin bicycle computers, ankle monitors, USPS package tracking scanners, fleet vehicles, and various mobile phone apps, including Lyft, Uber, Snapchat, and skier-tracking apps.
I regularly work with attorneys representing passengers or claimants in cases involving GPS data from any rideshare platform. Rideshare cases I’ve worked on involve assault, sexual assault, personal injury, death, and disability rights.
I create maps, timelines, and animations that show the records clearly, so a judge or jury can follow the analysis and its limitations without needing a technical background themselves.
It depends on the records available and what the device or platform retained, but I’ve analyzed location histories dating back to 2008, spanning a single incident up to several months of continuous data in prior matters.
Talk to Mark About Your Case
GPS evidence can make or break a case, but only if it’s read correctly. If your matter involves device or location data, I’d welcome a direct conversation about what the records can and can’t tell you.