DEA agents were watching a package containing MDMA (ecstacy) after it arrived at a Kaiser Permanente mailroom from Belgium. Cameras surreptitiously recorded the packages arrival, and appellants apparent ecstatic reaction to its arrival. When appellant was confronted with the videotape, he implicated himself in three different stories. His motion to suppress the evidence was denied, and he pleaded guilty. The appellate court here affirmed. The expectation of privacy in a public mailroom is not one which society recognizes as reasonable. The fact that the surveillance was conducted by video camera does not alter the conclusion.
Case Summaries