California+v.+Ciralo

Background: In the California v. Ciralo case a anonymous tip came in to the Santa Clara Police that Ciralo was growing marijuana in his backyard, but it was impossible to see into his backyard because his fence was to high. The Santa Clara police acquired a private plane to fly over 1000 ft. over Ciralo's house and saw that he was growing marijuana plants in his backyard. The police got a search warrant and confiscated 73 plants the next day. They arrested Ciralo who pleaded guilty to cultivation of marijuana. The California court of appeals said that the observation from the plane was illegal and reversed the conviction. The divided court however found that the observation from the plane did not violate the 4th Amendment. Chief Justice Burger found that the observation was consistent with the 4th Amendment, because it was public airspace and anyone could have seen the marijuana plants.

Majority Opinion: 5 votes for California, 4 votes Against

Dissenting Opinion: 4 votes for Ciralo, 5 votes for California