14th Amendment Violation.

Byline: Derek Hawkins

7th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: United States of America v. Jason Correa, et al.

Case No.: 16-2316; 16-2467

Officials: EASTERBROOK, RIPPLE, and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges.

Focus: 14th Amendment Violation

Members of a Drug Enforcement Agency task force lawfully found drugs in a traffic stop and seized several garage openers and keys they also found in the car. An agent took the garage openers and drove around downtown Chicago pushing their buttons to look for a suspected stash house. He found the right building when the door of a shared garage opened. The agent then used a seized key fob and mailbox key to enter the building's locked lobby and pinpoint the target condominium. At the agent's request, another agent sought and obtained the arrestee's consent to search the target condo. The search turned up extensive evidence of drug trafficking. As we explain below, the use of the garage door opener was close to the edge but did not violate the Fourth Amendment, at least where it opened a garage shared by many residents of the building. At all other...