I'm not the lawyer and don't want to engage much in this discussion. But to this particular point, the cops would not present it as warrantless use, even if it was, they're not dumb. They would just create a story where the use was reasonable, even if for a different purpose. A scenario? They randomly FLIR houses and see something suspicious at your house. They concoct a woman stopped a patrol car to report a very suspicious character lurking near the playground. The cop radios it in, never got the lady's name though. They bring in the FLIR chopper to search out this evil misfit. While scanning they "happen" upon your house glowing strangely. I believe that would stand up as evidence for a search warrant.
Absolutely. Then they pull your power bill for the past couple years. Then they look for tax returns, banking info, etc... WARRANT. YOu get searched, they find plants, growing equipment, your bathroom scale, any paper that has numbers and/or amounts of money on it (drug related or not), and you're FUCT.
Just a few points and I'm done. You're right up, they didnt make using FLIR illegal. There are plenty of legitimate uses for it. But it *is* unconstitutional to FLIR someone's home without a warrant, and it *is* unlawful to do so. That's all. They could still use FLIR on barns, cars, backyard shacks, etc. - any place that's not a home - and of course on your home if they get a warrant. Will the cops still use it anyway? Probably. As toastybiz said, there are easy ways to cover up its use. Like I mentioned earlier, it's a police monitoring problem. But has the ruling made using FLIR a less useful tool for police? Definitely. Certainly if the court decided that cops could use FLIR on home whenever they wanted to its use would be much higher levels than it is now. As for lack of civility, your general snotty and patronizing tone qualifies as such in my book, even if it might not in yours. Cheers all. Keep an eye on that karma wheel.
Barns, cars, sheds, would all fall under the same dsignation as "home". I have a right, guaranteed by the 4th Am., to be secure in their [MY]persons, houses, papers, and effects. That includes my shed, barn, and car. Didn't realize you were so sensitive. My apologies. Now go put on your big boy pants and I'll go get you a cookie. For the record, THAT was snotty. Up until this post, I have been more than civil. You've never seen me "non" civil.
...and wouldn't it be cheaper to just buy a cooled lighting system? wouldn't that eliminate the heat signature? I'm asking, I really don't know, but it seems like it would.