Reuters: Supreme Court Rules Thermal Imaging Is a Search. Justice Antonin Scalia said for the court majority that when the government uses a device not in general public use to explore the details of a private home that would previously been unknowable without physical intrusion, the surveillance is a search and requires a warrant.
This is excellent news. It shows signs that some of the hardline right-wingers on the Supreme Court haven’t totally abandoned the Bill of Rights.
Don’t be too pleased, though. If Congress passes a law explictly approving of these police-state tactics, the court will undoubtedly rule that it’s OK.
Meanwhile, let’s offer a small cheer for a decision that doesn’t rip yet another massive hole in the Fourth Amendment.