In the US your backyard isn't necessarily considered to have an expectation to privacy. The principle in question is Curtilage, the relevant holding was United

In the US your backyard isn't necessarily considered to have an expectation to privacy. The principle in question is Curtilage, the relevant holding was United States v Dunn. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtilage http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtilage The fence argument is interesting, the factors they'd need to consider are outlined in the Wiki article. It's also why a professor of mine who was a lawyer told us in DC that if we ever got a MPD citation for drinking in public on our porch that he'd take the case for free, as he felt the law would clearly be unconstitutional - and said he'd have fun doing it.