Category Archives: Pole cameras

VA: No exigency on police arrival at a “disorderly” call; entry unreasonable

“When the police arrived in response to the ‘disorderly’ call, there was no ongoing disorderly conduct or any indication of any other ongoing crime. Dickens appeared unharmed when she first opened the door to Officer Thornton’s knock, and she said … Continue reading

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USA Today: A camera mounted on a light pole took video of police beating Tyre Nichols. What to know about ‘SkyCop.’

USA Today: A camera mounted on a light pole took video of police beating Tyre Nichols. What to know about ‘SkyCop.’ by Claire Thornton:

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WaPo: Lawsuit alleges D.C. Housing’s cameras could ‘capture intimate details’

[I don’t normally bother to mention lawsuits until resolved, but SCOTUS is considering a pole camera case for conference in the next month or so.] WaPo: Lawsuit alleges D.C. Housing’s cameras could ‘capture intimate details’ by Justin Wm. Moyer:

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SCOTUS orders SG response to pole camera cert. petition

Moore v. United States, 22-481 from SCOTUSBlog.Issue: Whether long-term police use of a surveillance camera targeted at a person’s home and curtilage is a Fourth Amendment search. The Solicitor General waived response Dec. 9. On Dec. 15, the government was … Continue reading

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D.Kan.: 10 weeks of pole camera surveillance in disability fraud investigation was reasonable

Defendant was on disability. The government placed a pole camera across the street from his house to see whether he was able or not, and he was indicted for theft of public funds. Ten weeks of pole camera surveillance was … Continue reading

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SCOTUS denies cert in pole camera case

Bloomberg Law: Justices Decline to Hear Home Surveillance Privacy Case (Feb. 22, 2022), referring to United States v. Tuggle, 4 F.4th 505 (7th Cir. 2021)

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N.D.Ill.: A “network of pole cameras” doesn’t violate 4A

Five pole cameras were trained on defendant’s house. A “network of pole cameras” isn’t a Fourth Amendment violation. See United States v. Tuggle, 4 F.4th 505 (7th Cir. 2021). Moreover, he does not rebut the presumption of good faith with … Continue reading

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MA: State law requires PC for pole camera surveillance, and officers had it

Pole camera surveillance in Massachusetts requires probable cause to set it up. Officers had it in defendant’s case, and his front door and left side of his house were watched for 15 days. Commonwealth v. Comenzo, 2022 Mass. LEXIS 54 … Continue reading

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D.Conn.: No REP in pole camera surveillance of def’s business’s front door

Defendant had no reasonable expectation of privacy in two months of pole camera surveillance of his business front door. Society would not recognize a reasonable expectation of privacy of what’s visible from the public street. United States v. Harry, 2022 … Continue reading

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CA9: No standing in pole camera surveillance of house of another

Defendant doesn’t have standing to challenge prolonged pole camera surveillance of the property of another. Also, there was reasonable suspicion on the totality including collective knowledge to extend defendant’s stop for a drug dog. United States v. Cruz, 2021 U.S. … Continue reading

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Bloomberg Law: Police Turn on Hidden Cameras, Turn Off Fourth Amendment

Bloomberg Law: Police Turn on Hidden Cameras, Turn Off Fourth Amendment by Joshua Windham and Daryl James, Institute for Justice:

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CO: Warrantless three month pole camera surveillance violated 4A

Warrantless three month pole camera surveillance violated the Fourth Amendment. People v. Tafoya, 2021 CO 62, 2021 Colo. LEXIS 882 (Sept. 13, 2021):

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CA7: Extended pole camera surveillance not 4A violation

Extended pole camera surveillance not a Fourth Amendment violation. United States v. Tuggle, 2021 U.S. App. LEXIS 20841 (7th Cir. July 14, 2021). If you have a pole camera case, you need to read this. What follows is part of … Continue reading

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N.D.Tex.: Motion to suppress 2½ months of pole camera recording untimely

The reasonableness of 2½ months of pole camera observation of defendant’s house was waived by not filing a motion to suppress until after the First Circuit granted en banc review on that issue and then a month later. United States … Continue reading

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S.D.Ohio: Pole cam observation of def with blunt was RS for stop

Zooming in on a pole cam video, officers determined that defendant had a blunt in his hand when he was getting in his car. The question is reasonable suspicion, and officers don’t have to exhaust the innocent possibilities before acting … Continue reading

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FL2: Private pole camera was potentially the tort of “intrusion on seclusion”

In a fence line dispute, defendants’ posting a 25’ high pole camera watching plaintiff’s property stated a claim for intrusion on seclusion. Jackman v. Cebrink-Swartz, 2021 Fla. App. LEXIS 4321 (Fla. 2d DCA Mar. 26, 2021). So how will this … Continue reading

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E.D.Wis.: No REP as to pole camera surveillance, one in an apt building hallway

Two surveillance cameras were installed; one on a pole, one in a hallway of an apartment building. Defendant, a visitor, had no reasonable expectation of privacy. A codefendant already litigated this motion and lost, and he should have acknowledged the … Continue reading

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D.Kan.: Surreptitiously video recording a VA doctor’s exam does not violate 4A

The VA video recorded a physical exam of defendant as a part of a fraud investigation into obtaining VA benefits. Defendant had no reasonable expectation of privacy against recording because the examiner could have reported everything in detail anyway. United … Continue reading

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Massachusetts holds long term pole camera surveillance of one’s home can violate REP and state constitution

Long term surveillance of defendant’s homes with pole cameras wasn’t a Fourth Amendment violation but it could violate the Massachusetts Constitution. Two defendants show a reasonable expectation of privacy under a “mosaic theory” which has been recognized in Massachusetts. Remanded … Continue reading

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Colorado grants review of pole camera surveillance

“Petition for Writ of Certiorari GRANTED. EN BANC. [¶] Whether the court of appeals erred in concluding that video surveillance through a camera mounted to a utility pole constituted a warrantless search in violation of the Fourth Amendment.” People v. … Continue reading

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