Brigham Young University Prelaw Review
Keywords
Surveillance, Fourth Amendment, Supreme Court, Search, Home, REP Test, Mosaic Theory, Originalism, Katz v. United States
Abstract
As our country enters a new digital age, emerging technologies have increased the ability of law enforcement to monitor American citizens more closely. The tracking of suspects through thermal imaging, video monitoring, and cell phone GPSs are just a few examples of the unlocked potential now available to investigating authorities. When directed at the home, these technologies allow for unprecedented encroachment of our most intimate sphere of daily life. With this accelerating prevalence of technology in surveillance practices comes the need to reassess what boundaries the Fourth Amendment defines for our privacy. This paper explores the application of the Reasonable Expectation of Privacy Test, Mosaic Theory, and originalist interpretation of the Fourth Amendment in determining the constitutionality of long-term, video surveillance of the home.
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Hoffman, Josh and Xia, Jared
(2023)
"The Fourth Amendment in a Digital Age: Defining Boundaries in Law Enforcement Surveillance of the Home,"
Brigham Young University Prelaw Review: Vol. 37, Article 9.
Available at:
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/byuplr/vol37/iss1/9