Legal Question in Constitutional Law in Maryland

Re: Video Surviellance Monitoring

Almost anything held out to public view has a lowered expectation of privacy. Thus, there is no privacy with most things open to public view. The street and walkway in a public area are treated accordingly.

You also have no privacy interest in your outward appearance when on public property.

It is a crime in Maryland to set a camera with the intent to conduct deliberate surreptitious observation of an individual inside the private residence. This constitutes a misdemeanor with penalty of 6 month confinement or $1,000 fine or both. This would depend on the facts. You would need a strong case for prosecution to ensue.

A civil action also lies for such an offense.

You should speak with an attorney. Most of what I indicate above is based on general terms of both criminal and civil code. Your specific situation may not apply based on more specific aspects of law.

Re: Video Surviellance Monitoring

Invasion of privacy depends on whether a person's actions would be an unreasonable intrusion into the privacy and seclusion of another. The extent to which your neighbor had a legitimate security need to point the camera in a direction towards your residence would be a factor in making this determination. Generally a person may take photographs of the activities that occur on a public street, as long as they are not of such character that they become overly intrusive, harassment, or directed towards one person, such as papparazzi hounding Jackie Onassis.