Did the Government Go Too Far?

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The fourth amendment protects people against unreasonable searches and seizures. The police had evidence that DLK was growing marijuana in his house, so they used a thermal imager and found a significant amount of heat. The police took this evidence to a judge who gave them a warrant to search inside DLK’s house for the marijuana and when they did search his house the police found the plants and arrested DLK. The controversy surrounding this case is whether or not it was constitutional for the police to use the thermal imager of DLK’s house without a search warrant. The government did not need a warrant to use a thermal imager on the outside of DLK’s house because once the heat left DLK’s house it was out in public domain, the thermal imager could not see any details within DLK’s house, and the police already had evidence to expect DLK was growing the marijuana plants in his house.
The government did not need a warrant to use a thermal imager on DLK’s house because once the heat left DLK’s house it was out in public domain. Document F-2 states that once an aroma or heat wave leaves a home the wave goes into the public domain and there is no longer a reasonable expectation of privacy on the heat waves or aroma. For example, if someone were to make a bunch of pies in their house they would have no expectation of privacy of the scent that they create by making the pies. Same goes for DLK, he had so many lamps and so much heat from growing the plants that if anyone could simply come up and touch the side of his house they would be able to feel the heat coming out. DLK therefore has no reasonable expectation for the heat that he is creating to remain private.
The government did not need a warrant to use a thermal imager on DLK’s hous...

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...cy of the things he did within his home, and the thermal imager can show things that the naked eye cannot see as document D and F-2 state. However, there are many other situations in which the government uses things that are not available to the general public such as when the police can get information of phone records and power bills while it would be much harder for any citizen to do that. DLK may also have a reasonable expectation of privacy for the things he does in his home, but the thermal imager cannot see exactly what DLK was doing in his home only the heat that was being released. Lastly, when police examine a crime scene they can use a special chemical to show any remnants of blood that was previously cleaned up which is perfectly legal without a warrant. So the it was not necessary for the police to have a warrant to use the thermal imager on DLK’s home.

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