Sunday, October 15, 2017

Drone Surveillance

The newest craze out there are the use of drones. Private investigators across the US are using them as surveillance tools. This begs the next question. Are the use of drones legal? The answer is it depends on your purpose for the drone.

The FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, Section 336 vaguely mentions that flying a drone in a manner that is in furtherance of a business, is a violation of federal law. However, the penalties are ambiguous so enforcement of this law is sort of questionable.

I also don't have to tell you that trespassing on private property is a crime. Well, is air space considered private property? If not, then can we fly a drone over private property for surveillance purposes, right? To answer this question, let's look at the classic US Supreme Court case of United States v. Causby (1946):

A landowner “owns at least as much of the space above the ground as he can occupy or use in connection with the land,” and invasions of that airspace “are in the same category as invasions of the surface.”

Now, as for you fellow Californians, you're probably wondering if there's any California-specific laws addressing the use of drones. I don't want to spoil all the fun, so I'll give you some homework: Look up CA Code of Civil Procedures § 1708.8 (a).

Take care and if your taking the California PI exam, good luck to you!

--Shaun Sundahl


Note: Information presented in this blog is in Shaun's 2018 book titled, The California Legal Investigator: A Book on Investigative Methods for Investigators Without Law Enforcement Authority and Managing a California-Based Private Investigations Agency.




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