Ep. #324: Can a car be searched if it's half on curtilage?

📌 In physically intruding on the curtilage of Collins' home to search the motorcycle, Officer Rhodes not only invaded Collins' Fourth Amendment interest in the item searched, i.e., the motorcycle, but also invaded Collins' Fourth Amendment interest in the curtilage of his home. The question before the Court is whether the automobile exception justifies the invasion of the curtilage.2 The answer is no.

Applying the relevant legal principles to a slightly different factual scenario confirms that this is an easy case. Imagine a motorcycle parked inside the living room of a house, visible through a window to a passerby on the street. Imagine further that an officer has probable cause to believe that the motorcycle was involved in a traffic infraction. Can the officer, acting without a warrant, enter the house to search the motorcycle and confirm whether it is the right one? Surely not.

1516 The reason is that the scope of the automobile exception extends no further than the automobile itself.
- Collins v. Virginia, 138 S. Ct. 1663, 1671, 201 L. Ed. 2d 9 (2018)

-----

✅ Drop a like and subscribe, thank you for your support! 🥰

🚨 Do have another roadside chat question? Send it here: https://www.bluetogold.com/show

Blue to Gold Training:
🔻Class Schedules - https://www.bluetogold.com/calendar
🔻On-demand Training - https://university.bluetogold.com/
🔻Free Legal Training Webinar - https://www.bluetogold.com/calendar?category=Webinar
🔻Book Store and Training Materials - https://www.bluetogold.com/store

Connect with us, learn us more. We keep our updates and news posted on social media:
🔻Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/bluetogold
🔻Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/bluetogold
🔻Twitter - https://twitter.com/bluetogold
🔻LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/bluetogold
🔻TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@bluetogoldtraining

#LawEnforcementTraining #PoliceTraining #LegalEducation