Surveillance Cameras
Surveillance cameras sprout like weeds at traffic lights, stores, schools and nearly every other corner of society.
Increasingly, the watched ask what about privacy and the liberty right to move about freely?
This brings up the issue of privacy in court cases.
A young woman goes to the back of the office building where she works to change clothes. She later learns a surveillance camera caught everything, including the times when she had severe sunburn, went to what she thought was a private area, unbuttoned her blouse and applied prescription ointment.
In another case surveillance video documents a school maintenance man walking into a classroom, going through the teacher’s desk and removing an envelope full of cash. Was the District Court correct in suppressing the video surveillance, holding it an unconstitutional search, violating the Constitution?
The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects against unreasonable searches or in this case intrusions by surveillance camera where there is a reasonable expectation of privacy.
In the first case the woman changed in the back of the office before and after hours when she thought she was alone. This was a business office, part of a college in downtown Salem, Massachusetts with a large plate glass window in the front. She only changed when no one was around, when no clients or visitors were expected.
The issue for the court asked whether she had a reasonable expectation of privacy. True, she maintained an actual expectation of privacy. Her problem was whether that expectation measures up to what society recognizes as reasonable.
In the case of Nelson v. Salem State College decided in 2006 by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, the court held there was no reasonable expectation of privacy in the office. The hidden video camera presented no violation.
What about the janitor caught on camera pilfering money from the teacher’s desk drawer?
Some cases hold that a reasonable expectation of privacy exists in areas devoted to an employee’s exclusive use. Such private areas include desks and file cabinets not shared with other employees. But this took place in a classroom, open to teachers, students and school staff.
The maintenance worker did not have exclusive use and control of the room. His job required him to go there. So, in the case of State v. McLellan the court found no reasonable expectation of privacy, holding that the surveillance camera violated no constitutional right. The New Hampshire District Court order suppressing the video evidence was overturned.
Constitutional protections against surveillance cameras apply only where reasonable expectation of privacy exists. This Fourth Amendment right requires two conditions, first, an actual expectation of privacy and second that the expectation is one that society as a whole recognizes as legitimate.
The less private an area is, the less likely a reasonable expectation of privacy exists. There’s less privacy expectation in an office than a home. Where surveillance cameras are installed in open work areas, schools, ATMs, and shopping areas they generally don’t violate a constitutional privacy right.
Philosophical and practical personal quandaries invoked by such issues have been addressed by many from George Orwell to George Carlin. That’s beyond the scope of a brief legal blog highlighting the reasonable expectation of privacy and whether it protects against surveillance cameras.
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View Comments
What about cameras on private property that are used to surveil the neighborhood and to peer into neighbors' comings and goings?
Hi DeAnna,
If the cameras are pointed inside windows of houses there's a problem and you should consult an attorney in the jurisdiction. If the cameras are recording what could be seen "in plain view" so to speak from the street, there's not a whole lot you can do about it.
I would like to know what about the camera that faces to my back yard, patio
As stated in my answer to your previous question the more the camera points to living areas the more violative it is of your reasonable expectation of privacy.
I live in a mobile home park. My neighbor across the street has a camera in the bedroom facing at my front door. I have pictures and videos for proof. Is there any legal action I can take against them?
I recommend that you contact a local attorney to send a cease and desist letter.
The security company installed the camera system on the premises of my house, but they did not give me the username and password so I could control my camera, is it reasonable or not, and the legal how's it
I'm not sure this is a legal question so much as an issue to be taken up with the security company. There should have been some initial training as to how to use the system, how to set up your personal access information and the like? I would contact them and request information.
My neighbor recently installed flood light security camera on the back of her house. Every time I walk outside onto my property her lights shine crazy bright. I feel my privacy is violated because its motion activated when I step on my own property and I know she has an app that alerts her of motion. I'm pretty sure she can see our activity on her phone with alerts. I have a problem if she is able to pick up a camera view from my property. Can I do anything?
Sounds to me like invasion of privacy and/or harassment with the lights. Contact t-he police and in a cool calm manner report this. If the police refuse to take action saying it is "a civil matter" retain an attorney.
What about cameras that take pictures of the inside of your car when they “Detect” you’re texting and driving?
Dear Eric;
Please give me more info. Whose camera? Yours, car owners? Insurance company's? How did the camera get there and who is controlling/viewing it?
Thanks
If I am in a relationship, do I have the right to know whether or not there is cameras inside my home? And do I have the right to have the same access to the surveillance cameras, if they are recording me, as my partner has?
Do you have the right to know if there are surveillance cameras in your own home? Absolutely! If you can't talk directly with the person you are in a relationship with about this, and you really should, then you need to have your attorney talk to them ASAP.
I lived in a federal apt complex where renters installed 3 security cameras which record the parking area, walkways and other renters windows, doors, and inside their vehicles. These recordings have gotten renters evicted in conjunction with anonymous calls of unsubstantiated claims. Are these cameras violating other renters rights when the camera owners are not recording the owners material and owners property?
It sounds pretty sketchy to me that renters are taking video of other renters and then somehow the authority or administration in charge is using those video recordings to evict people. Generally speaking anywhere you have a "reasonable expectation of privacy" there should not be a camera pointed at you and this would include inside your apartment. Outside, no. Inside your car: grey area. Have a local attorney who knows his or her way around a motion in limine take a look at the local rules of evidence to get future such uses tossed out. As a personal injury attorney that about as far as I can go with an answer but I wish you the best with it.
My neighbor just installed a security camera system. Our houses are very close together. The one side camera aimed at the length of her side yard is installed right by my master bathroom window. The camera has a wide angle lens and I've seen what she sees. The fourth amendment would apply here because there is a reasonable expectation of privacy in your bathroom. The issue is the company says if the camera is moved we have to pay for it. I believe the installer made a poor choice of location as it could be moved further from my window eliminating the issue. I believe they should pay for it. What recourse do I have?
You're absolutely right. You have a reasonable expectation of privacy not only in your bedroom but also pretty much anywhere in your house or on your property. Have an attorney in your jurisdiction send a cease and desist correspondence to the neighbor pointing out that no, its their cost to move their camera.
We live in the country. We have about 25 acres. The land just south of us has changed hands. The new owners have cleared all the trees along the fence line and put a game camera pointing directly into our land where our home is. Is this a violation of my privacy. They could place the camera to detect any game activity on their land without pointing it towards our property.
My opinion is that this is an invasion of your privacy and I would retain an attorney to send a "cease and desist" demand letter. Keep in mind that if the camera points at your residential dwelling its a fairly clear violation, if it only points at the land it is very obnoxious but they may put up an argument.
I have recently recieved confidential and confirmed information substantiating a group who is called the BOBs who work with the "LEOS" (Low Echelon Overt Surveillance System) have been using electronic methods to violate the privacy of Females while using the toilet, tending to intimate feminine needs, bathing, changing clothes and while having sex. An abundance of their videos and recordings they inadvertently released which specifically identifies them individually. This small crew is radically perverted and has no regard at all for peoples Constitutional rights to privacy and violates it with impunity. The press has received a small sample of a few of the individuals personal information and is organizing for a full blown multi-investigation. Do you think a Class Action lawsuit should be filed against the individuals or the BOBs organization?
No. You need to immediately report your knowledge to a prosecutor either the county district attorney and/or the state attorney general. Now. No later. Do not sleep until you have done this.