Florida v. Riley

Summary

The Court reversed the Florida Supreme Court and held that the warrantless observation of marijuana through the partially open roof and sides of a greenhouse from a helicopter 400 feet above the property was not a Fourth Amendment search. The controlling opinion reasoned that the helicopter was lawfully present in airspace accessible to the public, the greenhouse was partially exposed to aerial observation, and the surveillance caused no interference with the property or observation of intimate details. Justice O’Connor concurred in the judgment on the narrower ground that the relevant question is whether public helicopter travel at that altitude is sufficiently routine, while Justices Brennan and Blackmun dissented and would have treated the surveillance as a search or remanded for further factual findings.