Danny Kyllo Case Study

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On February 20, 2001, The Supreme Court ruled Danny Kyllo innocent. Agent William Elliott suspected that Kyllo was growing marijuana inside his home. So on January 16, 1992, Agent Elliott and Dan Haas used a thermal imager to scan Danny’s triplex. They stood outside his house in order to scan it for heat radiation. Did the Government go too far in this case? In my opinion, yes. The officers should have gotten a warrant before using the thermal imager on Danny Kyllo’s house, even though they couldn't see any detailed activities. Using the evidence they got from the imager the government was allowed to search Danny Kyllo’s house. The government took this case a little too far. Danny Kyllo did not knowingly make what he was doing inside the house public. “He took normal precautions against observation by conducting his activities inside his home,” stated Document D. Danny obviously didn't what the government to know because he was hiding it in his house. The Fourth Amendment states that it is a person's right to retreat and be free in one's home from unreasonable government …show more content…

Again, they should be able to gather their evidence with the naked eye. Many people could also argue that the government shouldn't have needed a warrant because Kyllo could have easily destroyed the evidence. It is very hard to destroy or remove evidence from a home. It isn't practical to get a warrant in a case of someone can see it with the naked eye in the search of a ship, motor boat, wagon, or automobile. “In this case, the government uses a device that is not in the general public use, to explore details of the home that would previously have been unknowable without going in. The surveillance is a search and is unreasonable without a warrant,” states Justice Antonin Scalia in Document F. Justice Antonin Scalia was on Danny Kyllo’s side, saying that they government needed a warrant in order to do

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