RYAN AUSTIN COLLINS v. VIRGINIA
Supreme Court of the United States, Sotomayor, May 29, 2018,
Searches – The automobile exception to the warrant requirement doesn’t automatically allow an officer to enter a house, garage, or portion of the driveway within the curtilage in order to go search the vehicle.

(Concur- Thomas- Get rid of the exclusionary rule for the States)
(Dissent – Alito- I clearly haven’t looked at the picture. Also, “the Fourth Amendment is neither an ‘ass’ nor an ‘idiot.'”)

It happens from time to time that I look around and the only one on my side makes me question my side… #LookingAtYouThomas
Alito’s dissent is… questionable, at best. Why do we want judges taking a bright-line rule and, on a case-by-case basis, looking into the degree of intrusion on privacy involved in an automobile search?

Facts:
On two occasions, an orange and black motorcycle fled from local Virginia police.
Further investigation revealed that the motorcycle was likely stolen and in the possession of Ryan Collins (Collins’ Facebook profile featured an orange and black motorcycle parked in a driveway).
One of the Virginia officers tracked down the address of the house, drove there, and observed a motorcycle in the driveway with a tarp over it. The driveway was along the side of the house, was enclosed on three sides, and was directly next to a side door leading into the house (picture below).

The officer walked onto the driveway, pulled off the tarp, and saw a motorcycle looking like the one from the earlier fleeing/eluding. He ran the license plate and VIN, finding that the motorcycle was stolen.
The officer then replaced the tarp, left the property, and waited for Collins to come home.
When Collins got to the house, the officer waited for him to get inside, then the officer knocked at the door and spoke with him. When Collins admitted that the motorcycle was his and that he had bought it without a title, the officer arrested him.
Collins was indicted by a Virginia grand jury. Prior to trial, he challenged the officer’s search. The Virginia trial court upheld the officer’s actions.
Collins appealed to the Virginia Supreme Court, but the Virginia Supreme Court held that the search was okay based on the automobile exception.
Collins then requested review by the US Supreme Court, arguing that the automobile exception doesn’t let police search an unattended car parked in the curtilage of a house.

Held: The Supreme Court agreed with Collins. The automobile exception doesn’t allow police to enter someone’s house or its curtilage.

Searches – In order to conduct a search, an officer must have either a search warrant or an exception to the search-warrant requirement

Warrantless Searches- Common exceptions to the search-warrant requirement:
– Frisk
– Consent
– Search Incident to Arrest
– Community Caretaking (including inventory)
– Exigent Circumstances (including hot pursuit)
– Carroll (probable cause vehicle search)

From the Case: There were two searches in this case. First, the officer entered the curtilage of the home. Second, the officer searched the vehicle. Both must be justified.

Searches- The “core” of the Fourth Amendment protects the right of a man to “retreat into his own home and there be free from unreasonable governmental intrusion.”

Searches – Curtilage – In order to protect a person’s privacy in his/her home, the courts protect the “curtilage” of the house. A police officer cannot enter the curtilage of a house without a search warrant or an exception to the search-warrant requirement.

Curtilage – The curtilage is the area around the house where “the activity of home life extends.”

Note: The curtilage generally includes areas such as a front or back porch and can include a small, fenced yard. It can also include the area outside of a window if that area isn’t reasonably expected to be used by the public.

Note: The Supreme Court has previously used four factors to help it decide whether or not an area is in the “curtilage”:
(1) the proximity of the area to the home
(2) whether the area is within an enclosure surrounding the home
(3) the nature and uses to which the area is put
(4) the steps taken by the resident to protect the area from observation by passersby

Practice Note: The “curtilage” of a Baltimore rowhome is going to be significantly different than the “curtilage” of a stand-alone house on several acres of farmland. Consider the above factors in deciding whether or not you are allowed in that area without a warrant or exception. Is it somewhere that a visitor would be allowed? Do general members of the public walk through there frequently? Is it reasonable for the residents to expect that area to be private? All of these things contribute to whether or not a location is in the “curtilage” of a home.

From the Case: “Just like the front porch, side garden, or area outside the front window, the driveway enclosure where Officer Rhodes searched the motorcycle constitutes an area adjacent to the home and ‘to which the activity of home life extends,’ and so is properly considered curtilage.”

From the Case: “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.”

SSW Exception – Automobile Searches – A vehicle can be searched without a warrant if an officer has probable cause that it contains either evidence of a crime or contraband

SSW Exception – Automobile Searches – If an officer has probable cause that an automobile contains evidence of a crime, the officer can search anywhere in that vehicle where the evidence can be found

SSW Exception – Automobile Searches – The “automobile exception” to the warrant requirement only allows an officer to search the vehicle; it does not allow an officer to enter someone’s home, garage, or curtilage in order to search that vehicle. This entry would require either a warrant or another exception to the warrant requirement.

For Example: If a suspect is being placed under arrest and retreats by driving his car inside of a garage or into the curtilage, an officer would still be able to follow because this would present an exception to the warrant requirement. Once the officer was legally at the car, she would be able to conduct a full search of the vehicle pursuant to the automobile exception if she had probable cause that there was evidence of a crime in the car (or RAS that there was evidence related to the arrest in the passenger compartment).

Practice Note: Before you conduct a search, think about why you are allowed to do so. This will help you remember your priorities in taking action. The strongest argument that the officer had here was that the motorcycle was stolen and had already fled twice from police. There is an exigency here and a need to avoid further flight/movement of evidence. By entering the curtilage, removing the tarp, searching the vehicle, replacing the tarp, and hiding until the suspect came back, the officer here worked against that exigency. Not only did he search without confiscating the vehicle when he discovered it was stolen, he allowed the suspect (who he now knew for certain was in possession of a stolen vehicle) to enter his house before approaching the door to do a knock-and-talk (cutting against the exigent nature of the investigation as well as introducing a safety issue in giving a felon a heads up that the police were after him as well as cover and access to weapons inside the home).

Practice Note: Don’t jeopardize a good investigation by jumping the gun on a search. The officer here conducted an investigation, checked social media, and obtained incriminating statements from the suspect. Because he jumped immediately into the search before getting his “ducks in a row,” however, he risked losing crucial evidence for the case.