. Acme Chemical Company operated a 2,000-acre chemical manufacturing facility at
ID: 380041 • Letter: #
Question
. Acme Chemical Company operated a 2,000-acre chemical manufacturing facility at Tonawanda, New York. The facility consisted of numerous covered building, with manufacturing equipment and piping conduits between various buildings plainly visible from the air. Acme maintained elaborate security around the perimeter of the complex to bar ground-level public views of these areas. It also investigated any low-level flights by aircraft over the facility. Acme did not, however, attempt to conceal all manufacturing equipment within the complex from aerial views because the cost would have been prohibitive. With Acme’s consent, enforcement officials of the New York Department of Envrionmental Conservation (DEC) made an on-site inspection of two power plants in this complex. When Acme denied DEC’s request for another inspection, DEC did not seek an administrative search warrant. Instead, DEC employed a commercial aerial photographer, who used a standard camera to take photographs of the facility from various altitudes. DEC did not inform Acme of this aerial photography. Was DEC’s taking of the photographs a search prohibited by the Fourth Amendment?
Explanation / Answer
NO, DEC’s taking of the photographs was NOT a search prohibited by the Fourth Amendment. According to the fourth amendment governmental searches and seizures to be conducted only upon issuance of a warrant, judicially sanctioned by probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized. If a party gives consent to a search, a warrant is not required. But the exception to the rule is that if an officer is lawfully present, he may seize objects that are in "plain view”. It is given in the case that Acme did not, however, attempt to conceal all manufacturing equipment within the complex from aerial views because the cost would have been prohibitive and DEC was taking photography from aerial view
Related Questions
Navigate
Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.