Steve Neavling
ticklethewire.com
Police don’t need a search warrant to install hidden surveillance cameras to spy on suspects, a federal judge ruled Tuesday, CNET reports.
The case involved DEA agents installing multiple surveillance cameras without a warrant to uncover evidence of a marijuana growing operation.
The DEA didn’t violate the Fourth Amendment, which protects against unreasonable searches, because the hidden surveillance is a substitute for ordinary police surveillance, U.S. District Judge William Griesbach ruled, CNT reported.
In this case, the cameras were outside the home, which the judge said is not protected by the Fourth Amendment.
It’s unclear whether the case will make it to the Supreme Court, which has rejected warrantless GPS tracking and warrantless thermal imaging.
