Aerial Trespass and the Fourth Amendment

Abstract

Since 1973, courts have analyzed aerial surveillance under the Fourth Amendment by applying the test from Katz v. United States, which states that a search triggers the Fourth Amendment when a government actor violates a person’s “reasonable expectation of privacy.” The Supreme Court applied Katz to aerial surveillance three times throughout the 1980s, yet this area of the law remains unsettled and outcomes are unpredictable. In 2012, the Supreme Court recognized an alternative to the Katz test in Jones v. United States, which held that a search triggers the Fourth Amendment when a government actor physically intrudes into a constitutionally protected space with the intent to obtain information. Courts have largely avoided applying the Jones intrusion test to aerial surveillance. This Note explores the intersection of the Fourth Amendment, aerial property rights, and government use of drones. It argues that the Jones intrusion test can be a useful doctrinal tool for analyzing aerial surveillance under the Fourth Amendment. This issue will only grow in importance as law enforcement expands its use of use of drone technology.