Leebron testifies at congressional forum on drones

To what extent can the government spy on domestic activities of its citizens without showing probable cause or obtaining a warrant? Rice President David Leebron shared his scholarly legal insight on that issue when he testified at the U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security public forum on domestic drones held Thursday at McNair Hall’s Shell Auditorium. Former dean of Columbia Law School, Leebron commented on the fundamental relationship between privacy and liberty and the importance of evolving technology such as unmanned aerial vehicles. He recommended comprehensively addressing the issue of aerial surveillance and finding the appropriate combinations between privacy protection and the appropriate law enforcement, noting that of most concern is the use of surveillance to intrude on nonpublic spaces or to track individuals who otherwise are not subject to search and seizure under the law. The forum was hosted by Reps. Ted Poe, R-Texas; Hank Johnson, D-Georgia; Michael McCaul, R-Texas; and Sandy Adams, R-Florida. Pictured: (From left) Leebron testifies before the congressional subcommittee on a panel that also included Chris Calabrese, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, and Todd Humphreys, assistant professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. (Panelist David Crump, professor of law at the University of Houston Law Center, is not pictured.) Photo by Jeff Fitlow