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9 ConLawNOW 1 (2017-2018)

handle is hein.journals/akjopal9 and id is 1 raw text is: A LOOK AT THE FOURTH AMENDMENT IMPLICATIONS OF DRONE SURVEILLANCE BY LAW ENFORCEMENT TODAY Mary Mara * Imagine for a moment that you are sitting in your back yard on a pleasant, peaceful, and sunny afternoon. Perhaps you are gardening, sunbathing, entertaining friends, or simply enjoying a moment of solitude behind the ten-foot privacy fence that surrounds your property. Now imagine that an unmanned aircraft system (i.e., drone) hovers overhead, even if just for a moment. You would likely wonder who is operating the technology and whether it was used to take video, photographs, audio recordings, or otherwise document your activities. Taking this scenario a step further, what if the technology was owned and operated by your local police department? Do you have an expectation of privacy from the prying eyes of law enforcement under these circumstances? And if you do have such an expectation, is it one that society is prepared to honor and uphold? The answers to these questions are far from settled despite the ever-expanding use of drone technology by police agencies across this country today. This paper will examine the current state of drone technology and its increasing prevalence in private and public settings. As police agencies seek to incorporate this new technology into their crime- fighting arsenal, serious Fourth Amendment privacy considerations arise. Although a national debate rages in this country about the impact of modern technology on privacy rights, Congress, the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), and the Supreme Court have yet to weigh in on the Fourth Amendment implications of warrantless drone surveillance by * J.D., Michigan State University Law School, 1991; L.L.M., Homeland and National Security Law, 2017. Since graduating, I have devoted my career to all matters impacting public safety. As an Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, I prosecuted crimes with a special emphasis on the investigation and prosecution of child sexual predators. I have served in my current capacity as litigator for Oakland County Corporation Counsel since 2002, with a special emphasis on the defense of Oakland County Sheriff deputies in federal court against claimed civil rights violations arising under 42 U.S.C. § 1983. 1

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