Law Commons^™

A Tale Of Two Sovereigns: Federal And State Use And Regulation Of Unmanned Aircraft Systems, Laura K. Donohue

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

Despite claims to the contrary, the federal government is severely limited in what it can do to regulate unmanned aircraft systems (UASs). States, on the other hand, as governments of general jurisdiction, have expansive powers that they are already using to grapple with the questions posed by UAS related to privacy, crime, and public safety. This chapter outlines the evolution of federal measures, noting their limitations, before delving into three categories of state law, related to law enforcement, criminal measures, and regulatory regimes. The chapter then turns to the history of state sovereignty, looking at states’ jurisdiction over persons and …

United States Drone Laws, Jacob Crittenden

Student Works

The purpose of this Directed Study was to investigate and compile the drone laws that exist within the United States, both on the federal level and for each individual state. The federal laws are directed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) under laws that pertain to “Unmanned Aircraft Systems” (UAS) and are relatively new. Most states have further regulations on UAS that they have passed. Most of these laws are in place to protect public safety and privacy, but some also prohibit certain locations of flight and certain modifications that might be made to the platform. State laws that limit …

Unmanned Arial Systems (Uas) In The Local Public Safety Environment: A Review, Hiram Taylor, Blount-Hill Blount-Hill, Charles R. Jennings

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

State Labs Of Federalism And Law Enforcement 'Drone' Use, Chris Jenks

Faculty Journal Articles and Book Chapters

This article reviews and assesses current state legislation regulating law enforcement use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS). The legislation runs the gamut of permissive to restrictive and even utilizes different terms for the same object of regulation, UAS. These laws are the confused and at times even contradictory extension of societal views about UAS. The article reviews the U.S. Supreme Court’s manned aircraft trilogy of cases, California v. Ciraolo, Florida v. Riley, and Dow Chemical v. U.S. and two significant technology based decisions, Kyllo v. U.S. and U.S. v. Jones, and applies them to current state efforts to regulate law …

Drones, Henry H. Perritt Jr., Eliot O. Sprague

All Faculty Scholarship

Abstract

Drone technology is evolving rapidly. Microdrones—what the FAA calls “sUAS”—already on the market at the $1,000 level, have the capability to supplement manned helicopters in support of public safety operations, news reporting, and powerline and pipeline patrol, when manned helicopter support is infeasible, untimely, or unsafe.

Larger drones–"machodrones”–are not yet available outside battlefield and counterterrorism spaces. Approximating the size of manned helicopters, but without pilots, or with human pilots being optional, their design is still in its infancy as designers await greater clarity in the regulatory requirements that will drive airworthiness certification.

This article evaluates drone technology and design …