Scalia says the thermal scan was a search requiring a warrant
Antonin ScaliaAssociate justice writing the Supreme Court's majority opinion
The majority opinion holds that this use of thermal imaging was a search, presumptively unreasonable without a warrant.
“Since we hold the Thermovision imaging to have been an unlawful search, it will remain for the District Court to determine whether, without the evidence it provided, the search warrant issued in this case was supported by probable cause”
Original text
Original text
Where this statement fits
Supreme Court holds the thermal scan of Kyllo's home was a search; Stevens dissents
In Kyllo v. United States, the Supreme Court held that the thermal scan at issue was a search and was presumptively unreasonable without a warrant. Justice Antonin Scalia wrote that technology should not erode privacy inside the home. Justice John Paul Stevens argued that observing heat outside the home did not invade protected privacy.
Source and context
Original text
About this source
The majority explains its warrant rule for the technology used in this case.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Original text
About this source
The Supreme Court reverses and remands. The dissent would uphold the thermal scan.
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The majority considers technology not in general public use.
After the quotation
It remands to consider whether other evidence supported the later warrant.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
Scalia's majority opinion expressly holds that the thermal imaging of the home was an unlawful search.
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More from this case
Read the full caseStevens says observing exterior heat did not invade protected privacy
“Those observations were made with a fairly primitive thermal imager that gathered data exposed on the outside of petitioner’s home but did not invade any constitutionally protected interest in privacy.”Read statement
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The Dispute Index. "Scalia says the thermal scan was a search requiring a warrant". First published: 2026-10-29. Last updated: 2026-10-29. https://disputeindex.com/events/7146-the-majority-opinion-holds-that-this-use-of