Police Camera Surveillance Violates Privacy, Mass. Court Says

Months-long camera surveillance of suspected criminals’ homes without a warrant violates the Massachusetts constitution’s right to privacy, the state’s Supreme Judicial Court found.

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey (D) must show probable cause for the surveillance as part of a drug network investigation, the justices ruled Thursday in sending the case back to a lower court.

Eight defendants said the use of five cameras hidden on public telephone and electrical poles during a seven-month investigation violated their Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches. They moved to to suppress any evidence stemming from the footage.

Police departments across the U.S. have ...