Kyllo v. United States

Facts

In 1991, a law enforcement agent suspect that marijuana was being grown in the home belonging to the defendant. Indoor marijuana growth typically requires high-intensity lamps. In order to determine whether an amount of heat was emanating from the defendant’s home consistent with the use of such lamps, agents used a thermal imager to scan his home. The scan of the defendant’s home took only a few minutes and was performed from the passenger seat of an agent’s vehicle across the street from the front of the house and also from the street in back of the house. The scan showed that the roof over the garage and a side wall of the defendant’s home were relatively hot compared to the rest of the home and substantially warmer than neighboring homes.

Based on tips from informants, utility bills, and the thermal imaging, a Federal Magistrate Judge issued a warrant authorizing a search of the defendant’s home, and the agents found an indoor growing operation. The defendant was indicted of manufacturing marijuana. He filed a motion to suppress the evidence used against him, but the court denied the motion. The defendant then entered a conditional guilty plea. The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the denial of the motion to suppress. He appealed, and is now in Supreme Court of the United States.