Massachusetts SJC Rules Body-Cam Footage of Home Requires a Warrant

Essentially, the Court ruled that body-cam footage is not, in and of itself, a search in the sense that it is just a recording of an officer's "plain-view" observations in a home. However, an investigation unrelated to the reason the officer was in the home in the first place requires a warrant to review the same body-cam footage.

Here, the police did not apply for a warrant to view the footage, and the evidence was suppressed.

Learn more: https://www.mass.gov/files/documents/2021/09/10/k12989.pdf