Officers need warrants to use aircraft, zoom lenses to surveil areas around homes, Alaska court says

By BECKY BOHRER
Associated Press

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska Supreme Court has ruled that law enforcement officers must obtain a warrant before using aircraft to scope out the area around a person’s home with binoculars or cameras with zoom lenses. The decision released Friday comes in a case that dates to 2012. Alaska State Troopers had received a tip that John William McKelvey III was growing marijuana on his property in a sparsely populated area north of Fairbanks. An attorney for McKelvey called the ruling a “tremendous decision” to protect the privacy rights of Alaskans. A spokesperson with the Alaska Department of Law says the agency is reviewing the decision.