On Tue, 10 Nov 2015 10:07:15 -0500, John H.
wrote:

Illegal to point lasers pointed at aircraft. That itself is already a big problem.
Another law that is pretty unenforceable.

They seem to catch a lot of these guys

On Tue, 10 Nov 2015 11:55:34 -0500, wrote:

On Tue, 10 Nov 2015 09:43:51 -0500, John H.
wrote:

Are there laws preventing one from climbing on their roof to video the folks at their
pool next door? Would it be illegal for me to climb up a step ladder and look over
the fence? I really don't think that's a matter for the federal government. Perhaps
that's where the cities should step in.
--

Actually no
This is a topic that comes up in my (inspector) legal courses. We had
a pitch about this from a Florida muni court judge.
Basically it pertained to unpermitted activity and the ability of an
inspector to look for it but it is the same law that would control any
snooping activity. Essentially it says that you can look at anything
you can see from outside the person's property lines, particularly if
you are on public property but also if you are on another person's
private property with their permission. That includes climbing on the
roof for a better look.

That gets a little more ambagious when you are talking about air
rights. As a general rule, you own the air, 500 feet above the ground
on your lot but over that is open for aircraft to fly over.
(Illegal to operate a hobby drone tho since it is over 500 feet)

The case can easily be made that it is illegal to fly a drone over
private property without permission but, like you say. I am not sure
how you enforce that. If the person with the drone is careful to stay
out over the public street and shoot pictures from there, I doubt
there is anything you can do about it.
If the operator then publishes the pictures, that opens up a whole
other can of worms.

It really looks like drones may have been designed by lawyers to drum
up business.

....and those who want to hire lots and lots of regulators and beaurocrats.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!

On Tue, 10 Nov 2015 11:59:17 -0500, wrote:

On Tue, 10 Nov 2015 10:07:15 -0500, John H.
wrote:

Illegal to point lasers pointed at aircraft. That itself is already a big problem.
Another law that is pretty unenforceable.

They seem to catch a lot of these guys

There's thousands of laser attacks every year, and we all know the operators are
stupid assholes.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!

On Tue, 10 Nov 2015 09:48:37 -0800, Califbill billnews wrote:

I think there are laws a lot of places about filming in to neighbors
private spaces. I know here your security cameras can not film the
neighbors private areas. Front door is ok, etc.

That might just be a California thing to slow down the paparazzi

wrote:
On Tue, 10 Nov 2015 09:48:37 -0800, Califbill billnews wrote:

I think there are laws a lot of places about filming in to neighbors
private spaces. I know here your security cameras can not film the
neighbors private areas. Front door is ok, etc.

That might just be a California thing to slow down the paparazzi


I do not know of the backyard if easily seen is a private place, but i bet
most states have such laws. Like filming in locker rooms or public
toilets.

On Tue, 10 Nov 2015 11:22:38 -0800, Califbill billnews wrote:

wrote:
On Tue, 10 Nov 2015 09:48:37 -0800, Califbill billnews wrote:

I think there are laws a lot of places about filming in to neighbors
private spaces. I know here your security cameras can not film the
neighbors private areas. Front door is ok, etc.

That might just be a California thing to slow down the paparazzi


I do not know of the backyard if easily seen is a private place, but i bet
most states have such laws. Like filming in locker rooms or public
toilets.

California's voyeurism laws on page 11:

The filming/viewing must be..." the interior of a bedroom, bathroom, changing room,
fitting room, dressing room, or tanning booth, or the interior of any other area in
which the occupant has a reasonable expectation of privacy" or "...under or through
clothing."

http://www.ndaa.org/pdf/voyeurism_statutes_mar_09.pdf

In this document the term 'reasonable expectation of privacy' is used very
frequently. A clear definition of same is hard to find, but it seems to be 'the
interior' of various types of rooms. I could not find 'back yard' mentioned anywhere.
Does a person in their own backyard have a 'reasonable expectation of privacy'? I
think not, but then again, it depends. If my next door neighbor has a window facing
my back yard and can see over my fence, then I can't reasonably expect that I won't
be observed in my back yard.

Likewise, as I have an upstairs window looking over his deck (and hot tub) they
shouldn't 'reasonably expect the privacy' to be bathing nude.


--

Ban idiots, not guns!

On Tuesday, November 10, 2015 at 3:41:05 PM UTC-5, John H. wrote:
On Tue, 10 Nov 2015 11:22:38 -0800, Califbill billnews wrote:

wrote:
On Tue, 10 Nov 2015 09:48:37 -0800, Califbill billnews wrote:

I think there are laws a lot of places about filming in to neighbors
private spaces. I know here your security cameras can not film the
neighbors private areas. Front door is ok, etc.

That might just be a California thing to slow down the paparazzi


I do not know of the backyard if easily seen is a private place, but i bet
most states have such laws. Like filming in locker rooms or public
toilets.

California's voyeurism laws on page 11:

The filming/viewing must be..." the interior of a bedroom, bathroom, changing room,
fitting room, dressing room, or tanning booth, or the interior of any other area in
which the occupant has a reasonable expectation of privacy" or "...under or through
clothing."

http://www.ndaa.org/pdf/voyeurism_statutes_mar_09.pdf

In this document the term 'reasonable expectation of privacy' is used very
frequently. A clear definition of same is hard to find, but it seems to be 'the
interior' of various types of rooms. I could not find 'back yard' mentioned anywhere.
Does a person in their own backyard have a 'reasonable expectation of privacy'? I
think not, but then again, it depends. If my next door neighbor has a window facing
my back yard and can see over my fence, then I can't reasonably expect that I won't
be observed in my back yard.

Likewise, as I have an upstairs window looking over his deck (and hot tub) they
shouldn't 'reasonably expect the privacy' to be bathing nude.


--

Ban idiots, not guns!

There's a somewhat understandable feeling that some people have that quads shouldn't be flying over their yards with cameras. And then some folks just have an unreasonable hatred for them, even if they just see one in the air in proximity to them or their property, and want to "shoot them down".

I'm thinking it's a new, cool fad and like most, the fascination will largely fade in time. People buy them and fly them, and most will get bored and leave them in the closet after a while. A few will do some dumb stuff with them, and then get bored. However, those few will probably get a whole new government agency created that will not go away even after the quads do.

On Tue, 10 Nov 2015 12:57:49 -0800 (PST), wrote:

On Tuesday, November 10, 2015 at 3:41:05 PM UTC-5, John H. wrote:
On Tue, 10 Nov 2015 11:22:38 -0800, Califbill billnews wrote:

wrote:
On Tue, 10 Nov 2015 09:48:37 -0800, Califbill billnews wrote:

I think there are laws a lot of places about filming in to neighbors
private spaces. I know here your security cameras can not film the
neighbors private areas. Front door is ok, etc.

That might just be a California thing to slow down the paparazzi


I do not know of the backyard if easily seen is a private place, but i bet
most states have such laws. Like filming in locker rooms or public
toilets.

California's voyeurism laws on page 11:

The filming/viewing must be..." the interior of a bedroom, bathroom, changing room,
fitting room, dressing room, or tanning booth, or the interior of any other area in
which the occupant has a reasonable expectation of privacy" or "...under or through
clothing."

http://www.ndaa.org/pdf/voyeurism_statutes_mar_09.pdf

In this document the term 'reasonable expectation of privacy' is used very
frequently. A clear definition of same is hard to find, but it seems to be 'the
interior' of various types of rooms. I could not find 'back yard' mentioned anywhere.
Does a person in their own backyard have a 'reasonable expectation of privacy'? I
think not, but then again, it depends. If my next door neighbor has a window facing
my back yard and can see over my fence, then I can't reasonably expect that I won't
be observed in my back yard.

Likewise, as I have an upstairs window looking over his deck (and hot tub) they
shouldn't 'reasonably expect the privacy' to be bathing nude.


--

Ban idiots, not guns!

There's a somewhat understandable feeling that some people have that quads shouldn't be flying over their yards with cameras. And then some folks just have an unreasonable hatred for them, even if they just see one in the air in proximity to them or their property, and want to "shoot them down".

I'm thinking it's a new, cool fad and like most, the fascination will largely fade in time. People buy them and fly them, and most will get bored and leave them in the closet after a while. A few will do some dumb stuff with them, and then get bored. However, those few will probably get a whole new government agency created that will not go away even after the quads do.

Agreed. I'm expecting to see the Bureau of Alchohol, Tobacco, Firearms, Explosives
and Model Aircraft any day now.
--

Ban idiots, not guns!

On 11/10/2015 3:41 PM, John H. wrote:
On Tue, 10 Nov 2015 11:22:38 -0800, Califbill billnews wrote:

wrote:
On Tue, 10 Nov 2015 09:48:37 -0800, Califbill billnews wrote:

I think there are laws a lot of places about filming in to neighbors
private spaces. I know here your security cameras can not film the
neighbors private areas. Front door is ok, etc.

That might just be a California thing to slow down the paparazzi


I do not know of the backyard if easily seen is a private place, but i bet
most states have such laws. Like filming in locker rooms or public
toilets.

California's voyeurism laws on page 11:

The filming/viewing must be..." the interior of a bedroom, bathroom, changing room,
fitting room, dressing room, or tanning booth, or the interior of any other area in
which the occupant has a reasonable expectation of privacy" or "...under or through
clothing."

http://www.ndaa.org/pdf/voyeurism_statutes_mar_09.pdf

In this document the term 'reasonable expectation of privacy' is used very
frequently. A clear definition of same is hard to find, but it seems to be 'the
interior' of various types of rooms. I could not find 'back yard' mentioned anywhere.
Does a person in their own backyard have a 'reasonable expectation of privacy'? I
think not, but then again, it depends. If my next door neighbor has a window facing
my back yard and can see over my fence, then I can't reasonably expect that I won't
be observed in my back yard.

Likewise, as I have an upstairs window looking over his deck (and hot tub) they
shouldn't 'reasonably expect the privacy' to be bathing nude.



Common sense dictates that being able to see your neighbor's backyard
from your house or property is *not* a violation of his"reasonable
expectation of privacy". Flying a remotely controlled, camera equipped
drone *over* your neighbor's property and video recording whatever is
happening certainly is, IMO.

On Tue, 10 Nov 2015 16:57:09 -0500, "Mr. Luddite" wrote:

On 11/10/2015 3:41 PM, John H. wrote:
On Tue, 10 Nov 2015 11:22:38 -0800, Califbill billnews wrote:

wrote:
On Tue, 10 Nov 2015 09:48:37 -0800, Califbill billnews wrote:

I think there are laws a lot of places about filming in to neighbors
private spaces. I know here your security cameras can not film the
neighbors private areas. Front door is ok, etc.

That might just be a California thing to slow down the paparazzi


I do not know of the backyard if easily seen is a private place, but i bet
most states have such laws. Like filming in locker rooms or public
toilets.

California's voyeurism laws on page 11:

The filming/viewing must be..." the interior of a bedroom, bathroom, changing room,
fitting room, dressing room, or tanning booth, or the interior of any other area in
which the occupant has a reasonable expectation of privacy" or "...under or through
clothing."

http://www.ndaa.org/pdf/voyeurism_statutes_mar_09.pdf

In this document the term 'reasonable expectation of privacy' is used very
frequently. A clear definition of same is hard to find, but it seems to be 'the
interior' of various types of rooms. I could not find 'back yard' mentioned anywhere.
Does a person in their own backyard have a 'reasonable expectation of privacy'? I
think not, but then again, it depends. If my next door neighbor has a window facing
my back yard and can see over my fence, then I can't reasonably expect that I won't
be observed in my back yard.

Likewise, as I have an upstairs window looking over his deck (and hot tub) they
shouldn't 'reasonably expect the privacy' to be bathing nude.



Common sense dictates that being able to see your neighbor's backyard
from your house or property is *not* a violation of his"reasonable
expectation of privacy". Flying a remotely controlled, camera equipped
drone *over* your neighbor's property and video recording whatever is
happening certainly is, IMO.



Why? Because of the angle? I could be filming out my bedroom window if I so desired.

I can understand that in your case, where your back yard is not visible by anyone
standing in or on their property, that your 'expectation of privacy' is different
than mine. But, if I had a drone not over your property, there is some altitude where
I could probably see in your back yard. Would that be a violation of your 'reasonable
expectation of privacy' or voyeurism? Wonder what the MA laws state. Go to page 39:

http://www.ndaa.org/pdf/voyeurism_statutes_mar_09.pdf

"Whoever willfully photographs, videotapes or electronically surveils another person
who is nude or partially nude, with the intent to secretly conduct or hide such
activity, when the other person in such place and circumstance would have a
reasonable expectation of privacy in not being so photographed, videotaped or
electronically surveilled, and without that person's knowledge and consent, shall be
punished by imprisonment in the house of correction for not more than 2 1/2 year
s or by a fine of not more than $5,000, or by both such fine and imprisonment."

If I'm using a drone, I'm not secretly conducting or hiding the activity, and there
is still the question of where is a 'reasonable expectation of privacy'. Does a back
yard fall into that category? Yours might, if surrounded by a few hundred acres of
woods, but mine sure doesn't.

[Please note, I'm not espousing the use of drones in the conduct of such activities.
I've been in the house all day, except when my wife came home at lunchtime, I'm
bored, can't work outside, can't go for a nice bike ride, so I'm playing on the
computer.]
--

Ban idiots, not guns!