JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Law enforcement officers in Alaska must obtain a warrant before using aircraft to spy on people’s homes with binoculars or cameras with zoom lenses, the state’s top government says. The court made the decision in a judgment released Friday.
The Alaska Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that Alaska State Troopers received a tip from an informant that John William McKelvey III was growing marijuana on his property in a sparsely populated area north of Fairbanks. The decision was made in a lawsuit dating back to 2013.
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According to the ruling, McKelvey’s property was heavily wooded and the driveway led to a vacant lot with a house and a greenhouse. Trees blocked the view of the building’s ground level from outside the clearing, and a gate blocked vehicle access.
The court’s account of the incident said two police officers who followed the call flew over the property and used cameras with high-power zoom lenses to locate buckets containing “unidentified plants” inside the greenhouse. I took a photo showing it. Based on a tip and flight observation, a search warrant was obtained for McKelvey’s property. During the search, officers found marijuana plants, methamphetamine, scales, a rifle and cash.
The AK Supreme Court has ruled that police must obtain a warrant before using aircraft for surveillance purposes. (Fox News)
McKelvey asked that the evidence be suppressed, but a Superior Court judge denied that.
He was found guilty in court of one count of third-degree criminal mischief involving a controlled substance and weapons offense. He appealed, arguing that the judge wrongly denied his motion to suppress.
The Court of Appeals reversed the Superior Court judge, and the Supreme Court upheld the Court of Appeals decision in a decision released Friday.
The state argued that because “travel in small planes is so common in Alaska that passengers may peer into yards and take photographs, law enforcement officers may do the same.” .We disagree,” the Alaska Supreme Court’s decision states.
“Alaska’s Constitution protects the right to be free from unreasonable search,” the ruling states. “Given the fact that a random person might catch a glimpse of your garden while flying from one place to another, law enforcement officers take to the skies and look into private areas right outside your home. It’s not rational to train high-performance optical equipment in space. It’s a warrant.”
According to the court, law enforcement officers must obtain a warrant before using aircraft or “vision-enhancing technology” such as cameras with zoom lenses or binoculars to monitor residential areas that are protected from surveillance from the ground. There is.
Most land in Alaska is not considered an intrusion on residential property, where privacy rights are strongest, and therefore authorities are not necessarily restricted from using aircraft or vision-enhancing technology to monitor these areas. “No,” the court said. Cartilage refers to the area in and around the house.
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McKelvey’s attorney, Robert John, called the ruling “an excellent decision that protects Alaskans’ right to privacy and sets an example for the rest of the country.”
The Ministry of Justice did not respond to an email requesting comment.
