Jeff Jefferies, a photographer recovering from an injury, spent his time watching his neighbors through his window. He noticed odd behavior from his neighbor Lars Thorwald and suspected foul play when Thorwald's wife disappeared. Jefferies contacted the police, leading to Thorwald's arrest on suspicion of murder. Now, Jefferies is concerned he could face criminal charges or civil liability for invasion of privacy from Thorwald for his surveillance activities. He has asked the law firm to research the relevant criminal and privacy laws and provide a legal memo analyzing potential issues.

1. MEMORANDUM
TO: Junior Associates (A3)
FROM: Senior Partner Goering and Senior Associate Stromberg
RE: New client; potential liability for neighbor surveillance
DATE: September 20, 2007
A new client, L.B. “Jeff” Jefferies, has contacted our law firm for help. He is a
professional photographer who travels internationally on assignment. For the last several
weeks, he has been laid up in his Los Angeles apartment recovering from a complicated
fracture he sustained to his right tibia and ankle in early June 2007, when fell off a camel in
Saudi Arabia while on assignment for National Geographic Traveler magazine.
Because Jefferies is single and travels extensively, he doesn’t need much space to live
when he’s at home between assignments. Consequently, he saves money by renting a third-
floor walkup studio apartment in downtown L.A. While he’s recuperating, a home health nurse
by the name of Stella, retained by the magazine’s worker’s compensation insurer, comes in a
few times a week. She monitors his progress, oversees his physical therapy regimen,
administers back rubs, and generally helps with household chores.
As you might imagine, Jefferies has been bored to tears during his recovery. He
quickly tired of the routine soap opera circuit and exhausted his reading list. Soon he took up
the habit of watching his neighbors for his own personal amusement from his picture window,
which looks over the back alley to an adjacent apartment building. Before long Jefferies was
routinely monitoring his neighbors’ day-to-day activities through his window. He claims that
most of the time he looks out his window and watches his neighbors just with his naked eye.
But I happen to know that he has a high-power set of binoculars and some pretty sophisticated
camera equipment in his apartment, including a powerful telephoto lens. I would not be
surprised if he has been using his equipment to zoom in on his neighbors’ antics to reveal more
than meets the eye (if you know what I mean).
Over the long, hot summer, Jefferies noticed that one neighbor by the name of Lars
Thorwald, a traveling wholesale jewelry salesman, was engaging in some odd behavior.
Thorwald and his wife rent a second-floor two-room apartment on the opposite side of the
alley. A couple of weeks after Jefferies started his routine surveillance, Thorwald’s wife
disappeared, and our client became suspicious. He contacted his friend, Det. Thomas J. Doyle,
who works for the L.A. police department and moonlights as a part-time private investigator.
I’ll spare you the rest of the details for now, but I have a videotape1 you can watch to
get the rest of the story. After you watch the videotape, you’ll see that our client’s observations
led to the arrest of Thorwald, who is suspected of murdering his wife.
Here’s the problem, which is where you come in. First, Jefferies is concerned that he
too might be subject to criminal prosecution for engaging in surveillance of his neighbors’
1
The Rear Window (1954).

2. activities (not just the Thorwalds’). See what you can find out about the criminal law issue,
and be sure to consult both federal and state law.
Second, regardless of whether Jefferies could be prosecuted for some kind of criminal
activity, he’s worried that he might be liable to Thorwald for monetary damages. After all, had
it not been for our client’s observations and investigatory activities, authorities may never have
found out and arrested him. Whether or not Thorwald is ultimately convicted, our client is
worried about the possibility that Thorwald might take retribution against him through the court
system. Jefferies is not concerned about a possible claim for malicious prosecution. Rather,
he’s concerned that Thorwald may sue him for invading his privacy.
The facts are not in dispute. Please watch the video and take careful notes about
Jefferies’ actions. You can assume everything depicted in the film is the gospel truth, except
please remember that the events occurred in L.A. in July 2007 (not New York City in 1954).
Next, research all relevant legal authorities, and then write an office memo addressing the legal
issues.
Your memo should follow the standard format for office memoranda discussed in the
Edwards text, including the appropriate headings. Please prepare a draft of your memo not to
exceed ten pages, using 12-point Times New Roman font and at least 1-inch margins on all
four sides, and please double-space your memo. Your completed memo should be
approximately 8-10 pages in length. I will not read past the end of the tenth page, so be sure
to include all required memo components within that overall page limit. A draft of your memo,
including the Question Presented, Brief Answer, Facts, Discussion, and Conclusion, is due no
later than Friday, October 19, at 5:00 p.m.
In preparing your office memo, please cite cases, statutes, and secondary authorities
consistent with the ALWD citation manual. While I expect you to make a reasonable effort to
accurately cite your authorities, the precise form of your citations will not affect your grade on
the draft memo assignment. However, you are expected to demonstrate that you understand
when you should cite authority to support a statement in your draft memo . Your citation form,
including the proper use of citation signals, will be an important factor in evaluating your final
version of the memo, which is due no later than Tuesday, November 20, at 5:00 p.m.
You may discuss the research materials and your analysis with other students who are
working on the same open research memo assignment (1L Sections A3 and B2). However,
you may not discuss the assignment or any of the materials with anyone else – including other
law students, your parents, your friends outside law school, your lawyer, your roommate, or
your significant other. In addition, you may not show your written work to anyone,
including your classmates in this course. Writing, revising, editing, and proofreading of your
memo must be done by you alone. Any departure from these requirements will be considered a
violation of the Washburn School of Law Honor Code and will be addressed accordingly.
Consultation with Senior Partner Goering and Senior Associate Stromberg
concerning your research or your writing is always permitted and encouraged. If you
have any questions or concerns about the assignment, please feel free to consult with either of
us in person, by phone, or by email.
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