Ep. #271: Is a search warrant required for a knock and talk where aggressive dogs are present?

📌 Curtilage
The home is the most protected area of the Fourth Amendment. The space around the home, called curtilage, is also offered this high level of protection.

Whenever you run into a curtilage issue, the first question is whether or not the space is actually curtilage. If not, the area is considered an open-field and not protected by the Fourth Amendment.

If a space is deemed curtilage, then the question becomes whether the area may be used by “uninvited guests” to make contact with an occupant. Florida v. Jardines, 133 S. Ct. 1409 (2013). Usually, this area is the pathway up to the front door.

📌 Knock and Talk
There is no Fourth Amendment violation if you try to consensually contact a person at his home. The key to knock and talks is to comply with social norms. Think about it this way, if the Girl Scouts could do it, you can too.

You must be reasonable when you contact the subject. Constant pounding on the door, for example, would likely turn the encounter into a detention if the subject knows that it’s the police knocking (an objectively reasonable person would believe that police are commanding him to open the door). Additionally, waking a subject up at 4 a.m. was viewed as a detention requiring reasonable suspicion (see below). In other words, if the Girl Scouts wouldn’t do then it’s probably unreasonable.

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What about “No Trespass” signs? You can usually ignore them because trying to have a consensual conversation with someone is not typically considered trespassing. Same goes with “no soliciting” signs.

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