Let’s say, for example, I live in an area that would benefit from having security cameras monitoring an area on my property. However, that camera can see into the window of my neighbor’s house. Is that legal?
I am NOT interested in spying on anyone, however it may be a side effect of the camera’s field of view. Even if it isn’t something that can be focused well enough to identify anyone inside the house, I still could see someone within the camera’s field being bothered by this.
And as an extension of this, what if I happen to record something illegal in the background and discover it later? Let’s say I see a murder in the background, which occurs inside my neighbor’s house (similar to the movie Enemy of the State, except this is a personal camera, not one set up to gather migraring bird activity.) Can this be used as evidence, or will it be something that was gathered illegally?
I am thinking the camera would be legal. I don’t see how it would be any different than having an eye-witness to a crime, except in this case, the “witness” is a camera. And as a result, the use of the recording in finding a perp would also be legal.
IANAL - It’s not legal to record people who have a reasonable expectation of privacy - in other words, your neighbors inside their home - without their consent. Setting up a camera that sees into your neighbor’s window is an invasion of their privacy and if it happens to record someone in their undergarments, or nude, you could also be arrested as a peeping tom and you could wind up classified as a sex offender.
All your quibbles would be something to tell the judge, after you’ve been arrested and hired a lawyer.
I am not a lawyer either, but I think the answer is more nuanced than that. A camera mounted high on a pole aimed down at their bedroom window would be very different than a camera five feet off the ground with the same view as someone standing on the sidewalk.
If the camera is on your property and you could legally stand there and look into your neighbor’s house, I can’t see how having the camera do it instead would be a problem. If you neighbor doesn’t want you catching nude video of them, then maybe they shouldn’t prance around in front of the bay windows that face the street.
The neighbors might not be terribly happy about it otherwise, of course.
I think the only problem would arise if the camera was someplace you wouldn’t be able to go yourself, like if you were setting it up in your neighbor’s backyard, but that is not the situation in the OP.
Wasn’t there a court case recently that decided in favor of a guy who was recording people in an apartment across the street? Basically the decision was “If you didn’t want to be recorded, close the curtains.”
I think it might have been NYC. Ring any bells? Anyone better at Googling for something this vague than me?
I seem to remember hearing that it was illegal to set up a security camera that filmed the street in front of your house. Maybe this is specific to a particular place / city / state? Does anyone else remember this?
But would a peeping tom ask ahead about the legalities on a highly respected board of distinguished experts [del] and pervs[/del] ?
If arrested this thread can be his cite.
Actually, I never thought of doing this, but it’s great to know that the first reply to the OP went there.
FTR, (not that it matters), this question came up because of the thread I linked to in the OP. I personally don’t have any plans on setting up a camera to record my neighbors (and if I ever did and was arrested and dragged to court, all I’d need to do is make sure my judge wasn’t blind and bring my neighbors in. I think any judge with a pulse and vision would immediately dismiss the charges.)
Anyway, maybe this is something that would have to be answered on a state level.
And there is a big difference (IMO, anyway) between being an actual “peeping Tom” and catching something without intent. Legally, there may be no difference…
As far as privacy goes, what does a person legally have a right to? If I don’t put curtains or shades on my windows, and walk around the house in the buff and people see me and/or photograph me, isn’t that my fault?
Let’s say I like having sex in full view of my window (and my neighborhood). My house, my property. I’d still expect to be in trouble for indecent exposure, correct? Or is it the fault of any nosey neighbor who happened to look into my window and see something they didn’t want to see? Is it their fault for looking in the first place? Or am I obligated to provide a minimum level of privacy FOR my neighbors?
It probably varies by jurisdiction, but here in Missouri a fellow was standing in front of his glass storm door while nude. Cops said they couldn’t do anything because they couldn’t prove he had intent to “arouse”.
You can absolutely make that argument in front of a judge after you’ve been arrested. You may even be found not to be in violation of any laws depending on the jurisdiction.
If you are caught setting up cameras that look into someones house it’s unlikely the responding officer is going to see things the way you do.
Back in the 60’s, when I first became interested in photography, the rule was:
If it can be easily seen from a public space (or a space to which you had legal access), it was in public view, and any person so photographed had no grounds for complaint.
The technology has made that moot, as I understand it.
Obviously, a GoPro drone overflying a nude beach would likely trip (Fair Warning?) some rule.
But a camera mounted onyour house for the purpose of recording (potentially illegal) activity on your property is fair game.
Now, if it has a manual swivel and zoom, which keeps zooming in on your neighbor’s bath window, you could have a problem, or maybe not.
That’s the general rule now, too, which is why it’s legal to video police making an arrest, even if they don’t want you to. The “reasonable expectation of privacy” rule also applies. The women’s change room may be a public place to some extent, but women expect not to be photographed in there (without their consent).
Of course, it depends on the judge too - which is what the word “reasonable” boils down to. Obviously, a person has a reasonable expectation that they won’t be seen nude if the only way to see in their window is from the top of a telephone pole. OTOH, if they do wander around in front of a picture window, in full view of the street, they really can’t object that they expect privacy. Between the two extremes, I suppose it depends if the judge feels you illegally intend “being a peeping Tom” or the images are incidental to normal security-motivated recording of the street. How the camera is pointed, how much zoom, and what you do with the results are probably evidence of one or the other.
There are court cases going on about things like GPS trackers - where a simple action like following a suspect is not an invasion of privacy, but electronic 24-7 surveillance could be. This is by no means settled law until the Supreme Court gets in on the act. (Although there was some recent case where GPS tracking was considered sufficiently invasive to need a warrant).
This may be relevant in that what is acceptable for a person to happen to do may not be applicable when it involves 24-7 electronic surveillance.
OTOH, Paparazzi get away with a lot more invasive things… usually.
I Am Not Your Lawyer [?]