The Alaska Supreme Court ruled that law enforcement must have a warrant prior to using aircraft and binoculars or cameras with zoom lenses to surveil areas around homes Friday.

The decision by Alaska’s highest court states “that because small airplane travel is so common in Alaska, and because any passenger might peer into your yard and snap a picture of you, law enforcement officials may do the same,” according to The Associated Press.

“We disagree,” the decision continued.

The Friday ruling has its roots in a case dating to 2012, when Alaska State Troopers got a tip from an informant about the growing of marijuana by John William McKelvey III on his property north of Fairbanks, according to the AP.

McKelvey’s property was heavily wooded and had a driveway that led to a clearing that had a house and a greenhouse, according to the ruling. Ground-level visibility of the buildings was restricted by trees, and a gate prevented cars from coming in.

Two troopers who followed up on the tip flew past McKelvey’s property and used a camera with a high-power zoom lens to get photos of the greenhouse with buckets that had “unidentifiable plants” in them, according to the court, per the AP. A search warrant for McKelvey’s property was obtained, resulting from the tip and flight. Amid the search, items including marijuana plants, methamphetamine, scales, a rifle and cash were found.

A Superior Court denied McKelvey’s attempt to have the evidence suppressed, and he was convicted of third-degree misconduct involving a controlled substance and a weapons misconduct count, according to the AP. He appealed and said the judge had incorrectly denied his motion to suppress. 

An appeals court later reversed the Superior Court judge, which was followed by the Last Frontier’s highest court affirming the appeals court decision.

“The Alaska Constitution protects the right to be free of unreasonable searches,” the Alaska Supreme Court ruling states, according to the AP. “The fact that a random person might catch a glimpse of your yard while flying from one place to another does not make it reasonable for law enforcement officials to take to the skies and train high-powered optics on the private space right outside your home without a warrant.”

An attorney for McKelvey, Robert John, said the ruling is a “tremendous decision to protect the rights of privacy of Alaskans and hopefully set an example for the rest of the country,” according to the AP.

The Hill has reached out to the Alaska Department of Law and McKelvey’s attorney.