The Michigan Supreme Court unanimously ruled in favor of a local government Friday in a dispute over sending a drone to take pictures of a rural salvage yard without permission.

Liberal and conservative groups closely watched the case, even joining together to urge the court to throw out evidence collected by Long Lake Township.

Todd and Heather Maxon had argued that the aerial photos violated their right to not have unreasonable searches. But the Supreme Court said the fight over excessive junk on the heavily wooded parcel was a civil action, not a criminal case, and that the so-called exclusionary rule doesn’t apply.

“We decline to address whether the use of an aerial drone under the circumstances presented here is an unreasonable search in violation of the United States or Michigan Constitutions,” the court said in a 7-0 opinion.