§ 5.03 "Houses"

• Jurisdiction: United States

§ 5.03 "Houses"

"House" is broadly construed. It includes virtually all structures that people commonly use as a residence, whether on a temporary basis, such as a hotel room,⁹ or on a long-term basis, such as an apartment.¹⁰ It also encompasses buildings attached to the residence, such as a garage.¹¹

For constitutional purposes, the word "house" also includes the curtilage of the home, that is, "the area to which extends the intimate activity associated with the 'sanctity of a man's home and the privacies of life.'"¹² In contrast, so-called "open fields" — "any unoccupied or undeveloped area outside of the curtilage"¹³ of a home — are excluded.¹⁴

Offices, stores, and other commercial buildings are included within the term "houses,"¹⁵ a conclusion that the Supreme Court stated has "deep roots in the history of the Amendment."¹⁶ However, this does not mean that the scope of Fourth Amendment coverage of such "houses" is the same: commercial structures are treated differently from residential property, primarily because one's expectations of privacy in the former are less than in homes.¹⁷

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Notes:

^[9] See, e.g., Stoner v. California, 376 U.S. 483 (1964).

^[10] See, e.g., Clinton v. Virginia, 377 U.S. 158 (1964) (per curiam).

^[11] See, e.g., Taylor v. United States, 286 U.S. 1 (1932).

^[12] Oliver v. United States, 466 U.S. at 180 (quoting Boyd v. United States, 116 U.S. 616, 630 (1886)).

^[13] Id. at 180 n.11.

^[14] Hester v. United States, 265 U.S. 57 (1924); Oliver v. United States, 466 U.S. 170 (1984); see generally 1 Wayne R. LaFave, Search and Seizure § 2.4(a) (4th ed. 2004). The factors that distinguish a curtilage from an open field are considered at § 6.06[B], infra.

^[15] See, e.g., See v. City of Seattle, 387 U.S. 541 (1967); see generally 1 LaFave, Note 14, supra, at § 2.4(b).

^[16] Oliver v. United States, 466 U.S. at 178 n.8.

^[17] Minnesota v. Carter, 525 U.S. 83, 90 (1998); New York v. Burger, 482 U.S. 691, 700 (1987).