In an unprecedented judgment issued last week, the Alaska Supreme Court deemed the police practice of employing aerial photography through telephoto lenses without a warrant unconstitutional. The court declared this activity as an unreasonable search, in violation of the Fourth Amendment and the Alaska Constitution’s provisions safeguarding privacy.
The ruling drew parallels from previous cases in states such as California, Hawaii, and Vermont. Despite a property being perceptible from an aerial view, the Alaskan high court held that an individual’s home and surrounding land may still enjoy a reasonable expectation of privacy. This effectively makes the “open view” doctrine, generally applicable at ground level, irrelevant. The critical opinion was penned by Justice Dario Borghesan, and was concurred by Justices Daniel Winfree and Jennifer S. Henderson.
Read more about this ruling on the law.com’s article.