Video Surveillance and the Constitution of Public Space: Fitting the Fourth Amendment to a World that Tracks Image and Identity

Introduction

In Lewis Padgett's1 short story, Private Eye, it is discovered that the whole of the physical environment doubles as a pervasive recording system: On every wall, every tree, every patch of ground people walk upon, their every action and conversation leaves "'fingerprints' of light and sound waves."2 Scientists have learned to "descramble" these naturally created records of people's activities and compile them into video archives containing every individual's entire past.3 Government investigations proceed very differently from those in our own world. Police detectives spend most of their time in a screening room, rewinding and fast-forwarding through each suspect's life.4 When they want a closer look, they can slow or pause their film to examine "every expression of his face, every muscular flection, every breath he [draws]."5 When curious about the experiences that have shaped him, they can instantly transport themselves back into his childhood.6 Even those not currently under such a government microscope know that each moment of their lives is preserved for "[a]n invisible audience from the future."7