Critical Thinking:
A local police department suspects that three individuals, Alvin, Simon, and Theodore, are growing marijuana on their property and selling it around town. The officers, though, do not have probable cause to obtain a warrant. As a result, the officers begin discussing some creative avenues for acquiring information about these individuals and their activities. A rookie officer who majored in Political Science in college offers three options: 1) looking through trash left outside of the suspects' home; 2) flying over the suspects' backyard and using standard binoculars to search for marijuana plants; and 3) using a newly developed piece of equipment that can scan the suspects' house and detect the presence of large quantities of organic plants. Answer the following questions about these options.
-The Supreme Court's decision in Kyllo v. United States has implications for which option?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The Supreme Court's decision in Kyllo v. United States ruled that the use of technology not in general public use to explore details of the home that would previously have been unknowable without physical intrusion constitutes a search under the Fourth Amendment. Option 3, involving a newly developed piece of equipment to scan the house, falls under this ruling as it uses technology to detect details inside the home without a warrant.

Critical Thinking: A Local Police Department Suspects That Three Individuals, Alvin, Simon