Use of Military, Police Drones a Supreme Court Case "waiting to happen."

[chill_wind]

Military, Police Drones May Lead to Supreme Court Ethics Fight

Gopal Ratnam - Sep 21, 2011


The large-scale deployment of drones by the U.S. military to track and kill enemies, as well as the use of the unmanned planes by police forces for surveillance, may lead to legal disputes about the rights to self-defense and to privacy, according to an article published today in the journal Nature.

The use of drones is “a Supreme Court case waiting to happen,” wrote Peter W. Singer, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, quoting an unnamed U.S. federal district court judge.

The U.S. Defense Department operates more than 7,000 aerial drones and 12,000 unmanned ground systems, Singer wrote, and the Miami and Ogden, Utah, police departments have sought licenses to operate surveillance drones.

Still, researchers, manufacturers, and military and civilian users of the drones, as well as regulators and policy makers, have yet to address the legal implications of using robots for military and police missions, Singer wrote.

see the rest: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-21/military-police-drones-may-lead-to-supreme-court-ethics-fight.html

[ProgressiveProfessor]

1. Domestic use of surveillance drones is not happening due to FAA restrictions

Until there is see and avoid capability they have to operate within visual range of the operator or with an manned escort. Exception are restricted area etc.