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FORM OVER FUNCTION?
POLE CAMERAS, TUGGLE, AND THE
FOURTH AMENDMENT
Abstract: On July 14, 2021, in United States v. Tuggle, the United States Court
of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit held that the warrantless use of pole cameras
to continuously surveil a suspect for eighteen months did not constitute a Fourth
Amendment search. In doing so, the Seventh Circuit contributed to a growing
body of judicial disagreement about the proper approach to technology-enabled
searches, mosaic theory, and the scope of the United States Supreme Court's de-
cision in Carpenter v. United States. This Comment argues that the approach in
Tuggle is incorrect because it unnecessarily narrows Carpenter and relies on as-
sumptions no longer relevant to technology-enabled searches.
INTRODUCTION
In his nearly thirty years as an Associate Justice of the United States Su-
preme Court, Antonin Scalia authored many of the Court's most influential
Fourth Amendment opinions.1 Perhaps surprisingly, Scalia, by his own admis-
sion, hated Fourth Amendment cases because oftheir seemingly limitless itera-
tions.2 In 2021, in United States v. Tuggle, a drug distribution case centered on
the small city of Mattoon, Illinois confronted the United States Court of Ap-
peals for the Seventh Circuit with one such iteration at the crossroads oftech-
nology and societal expectations of privacy.3
1 See Antonin Scalia, OYEZ, https://www.oyez.org/justices/antonin scalia [https://perma.cc/Z648-
YCGJ] (providing a biographical overview of Justice Scalia's life and career); JonathanBlanks, Jus-
tice Scalia: Underappreciated Fourth AmendmentDefender, CATO INST.: CATO AT LIBERTY (Feb. 15,
2016), https://www.cato.org/blog/justice-scalia-underappreciated-fourth-amendment-defender [https://
perma.cc/DN9F-VREH] (describing key Supreme Court Fourth Amendment opinions authored by
Justice Scalia). Justice Scalia was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Ronald Reagan and
unanimously confirmedby the Senate in 1986. Antonin Scalia, supra. He served onthe Court until his
death in 2016. Id.
2 Supreme Court Week: Supreme Court Justice Scalia, C-SPAN (June 19, 2009), https://www.c-
span.org/video/?286079-1/supreme-court-justice-scalia [https://perma.cc/3BB3-58TY] (I just hate
Fourth Amendment cases . . .. [I]t's almost a jury question, you know, whether this variation is an
unreasonable search or seizure, variation 3,542 .... I'll write the opinion, but I don't consider it a
plum.).
3 See United States v. Tuggle, 4 F.4th 505, 511-12 (7th Cir. 2021) (detailing the case's factual
background), cert. denied, 142 S. Ct. 1107 (2022). As of July 2021, Mattoon, Illinois had an estimated
population of 16,805 residents. Quick Facts: Mattoon, Illinois, U.S. CENSUS BUREAU, https://www.
census.gov/quickfacts/mattooncityillinois [https://perma.cc/8EC7-P28W] (Sept. 11, 2022).
1](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/bclresp64&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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