By Mike Petridis
I. Introduction
Kyllo v. United States[1] created a rule with an unnecessary test that allows a home, a person’s castle, to be searched without a warrant. The Kyllo rule states: “[O]btaining by sense-enhancing technology any information regarding the interior of the home that could not otherwise have been obtained without physical ‘intrusion into a constitutionally protected area’ constitutes a search — at least where . . . the technology in question is not in general public use.”[2] This rule was intended to be forward-looking and anticipate future technology.[3] However, the “general public use” test is a loophole that can be used by law enforcement officers to conduct warrantless searches of homes in violation of Fourth Amendment principles.
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