Florida v. Riley

Florida v. Riley
Argued October 3, 1988
Decided January 23, 1989
Full case nameFlorida v. Riley
Citations488 U.S. 445 (more)
109 S. Ct. 693; 102 L. Ed. 2d 835; 1989 U.S. LEXIS 580; 57 U.S.L.W. 4126
Case history
PriorDefendant's motion to suppress evidence granted by trial court; reversed, State v. Riley, 476 So. 2d 1354 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1985); decision quashed, 511 So. 2d 282 (Fla. 1987); cert. granted, 484 U.S. 1058 (1988).
SubsequentRehearing denied, 490 U.S. 1014 (1989); remanded, 549 So. 2d 673 (Fla. 1989).
Holding
Helicopter surveillance at an altitude of 400 feet did not constitute a search under the Fourth Amendment. Florida Supreme Court reversed.
Court membership
Chief Justice
William Rehnquist
Associate Justices
William J. Brennan Jr. · Byron White
Thurgood Marshall · Harry Blackmun
John P. Stevens · Sandra Day O'Connor
Antonin Scalia · Anthony Kennedy
Case opinions
PluralityWhite, joined by Rehnquist, Scalia, Kennedy
ConcurrenceO'Connor (in judgment)
DissentBrennan, joined by Marshall, Stevens
DissentBlackmun
Laws applied
U.S. Const. amend. IV

Florida v. Riley, 488 U.S. 445 (1989), was a United States Supreme Court decision which held that police officials do not need a warrant to observe an individual's property from public airspace.