Two pieces of legislation currently before Congress propose to limit the domestic use of unmanned aerial vehicles by law enforcement agencies.H.R. 5925 was introduced on June 7, 2012 in the House of Representatives. On June 12, 2012, an almost identical bill, S. 3287, was introduced in the Senate. Both bills, cited as the “Preserving Freedom from Unwarranted Surveillance Act of 2012”, intensify efforts to protect constitutional rights to privacy found in the Fourth Amendment.
The mutual purpose of this legislation is “to protect individual privacy against unwarranted governmental intrusion through the use of the unmanned aerial vehicles commonly called drones . . . .” Both bills create a general prohibition on the use of drones to gather information or evidence that pertains to criminal activities or violations of the law without a proper warrant.
There are three general exceptions to the prohibition on the use of drones without a warrant:
1) Drones may be used to patrol national borders to prevent illegal immigration and drug trafficking;
2) Law enforcement may use drones in the case of exigent circumstances, such as to prevent imminent danger to life or serious damage to property; and
3) Drones may be used when there is a high risk of a terrorist attack deemed credible by the Secretary of Homeland Security.
As compared to H.R. 5925, however, it is important to understand that S. 3287 provides greater protection against the use of evidence obtained or collected by drones without a warrant. Whereas both pieces of legislation permit “all appropriate relief” to an aggrieved party in a civil action, S. 3287 also contains an express prohibition on the admissibility of evidence “. . . obtained or collected in violation of this Act . . . as evidence in a criminal prosecution in any court of law in the United States.”
For further information or questions regarding these bills, contact Ronce Almond at (202) 457-7790.