Pole Cameras and Curtilage: Suppressing Long-Term, Warrantless Video Surveillance Around the Home in Georgia Courts

Some police departments in the country have used pole cameras to surveil homes for weeks or even months without a warrant. Pole cameras are proficient at zooming in on porches, driveways, and yards to allow for the capture of private moments that were never intended to be shared with the public. 

In Georgia, these locations, like porches, driveways, and yards, are classified as curtilage and thus considered part of your home under the law to afford you protection from the U.S. and Georgia Constitutions.

Why Georgia Law Treats the Porch Like the Living Room

Under Fourth Amendment doctrine and Georgia’s own state constitution, the space immediately surrounding your house is treated with the same privacy as the inside. Courts call it curtilage. So, when police install a pole camera near your property and record hours of video, they may be conducting a search. Without a warrant, that search could be illegal.

Georgia’s courts have already suppressed evidence in similar situations. In State v. Arroyo (2023), for example, a drug dog sniffing right outside an apartment door crossed the line into protected space. Pole cameras that monitor your porch or driveway for weeks raise the same constitutional red flags.

Challenging the Footage: How and When to Act

If a pole camera recorded activity around your home, your legal team can file a motion to suppress under O.C.G.A. §17-5-30. This motion asks the court to exclude video that may have been gathered in violation of your rights. However, Georgia courts often set strict deadlines. In many cases, you must file the motion before or shortly after arraignment.

It’s also important to uncover the details, where the camera was installed, what areas it could see, how long it recorded, and whether it had zoom or night vision. These facts can show the court that the footage crossed into private territory. When the State can’t justify how or why the surveillance happened, the door opens to getting it thrown out.

Act If Your Home Was Watched Without a Warrant

Warrantless video surveillance of your home is invasive and may be unconstitutional. If you’ve been charged with a crime after long-term surveillance, don’t wait.

At Morris & Dean, we help clients fight back against illegal searches and seek to suppress this kind of evidence. Call 706-222-3790 or complete our intake form to get started.