Source: http://openjurist.org/291/f3d/945/united-states-v-l-french
Timestamp: 2015-12-01 20:42:18
Document Index: 244651362

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 841', '§ 846', '§ 924', '§ 922', '§ 5861', '§ 846', '§ 2']

291 F. 3d 945 - United States v. L French HomeFederal Reporter, Third Series291 F.3d
On June 9, 2000, a grand jury sitting in the Central District of Illinois charged French in a six-count indictment with two counts of the attempted manufacture of methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and § 846, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense, 18 U.S.C. § 924(c), two counts of possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, 18 U.S.C. § 922(k), as well as possession of an unregistered short-barreled shotgun, 26 U.S.C. § 5861(d). A superseding indictment charged French with the six counts recited above as well as an additional count of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute methamphetamine, 21 U.S.C. § 846.
We review a trial court's findings of fact in a suppression hearing for clear error and its conclusions of law and mixed questions of law and fact de novo. United States v. Meyer, 157 F.3d 1067, 1079 (7th Cir.1998). A factual finding is clearly erroneous "when, although there is evidence to support it, the reviewing court on the entire evidence is left with the definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been made." United States v. Gravens, 129 F.3d 974, 978 (7th Cir.1997). Because the resolution of a motion to suppress is necessarily fact-specific, reviewing courts give special deference to the trial court that heard the testimony and had the best opportunity to observe the witnesses at the suppression hearing. Id. "We do not second-guess the [trial] judge's credibility determinations because he or she has had the best opportunity to observe the verbal and nonverbal behavior of the witnesses focusing on the subject's reactions and responses to the interrogatories, their facial expressions, attitudes, tone of voice, eye contact, posture and body movements, as well as confused or nervous speech patterns in contrast with merely looking at the cold pages of an appellate record." United States v. Mancillas, 183 F.3d 682, 701 n. 22 (1999).
In addition, a defendant objecting to the search of a particular area bears the burden of proving a legitimate expectation of privacy in the area searched. United States v. Ruth, 65 F.3d 599, 604 (7th Cir.1995) (citing United States v. Duprey, 895 F.2d 303, 309 (7th Cir.1989)). A reasonable expectation of privacy exists when "`(1) the complainant exhibits an actual (subjective) expectation of privacy and, (2) the expectation is one that society is prepared to recognize as reasonable.'" Id. (quoting United States v. Myers, 46 F.3d 668, 669 (7th Cir.1995)).
French argues that he had a reasonable expectation of privacy in the gravel walkway from which Kelly made his observations of the methamphetamine lab because it was within the curtilage of his home. The Fourth Amendment protects individuals from unreasonable searches and seizures. This protection is not limited to the four walls of one's home, but extends to the curtilage of the home as well. See Siebert v. Severino, 256 F.3d 648, 653-54 (7th Cir.2001). The home's curtilage encompasses "the area outside the home itself but so close to and intimately connected with the home and the activities that normally go on there that it can reasonably be considered part of the home." Id. At common law, the curtilage is the area that encompasses the intimate activities associated with the sanctity of the home and the privacies of life. United States v. Hedrick, 922 F.2d 396, 398 (7th Cir.1991).
A curtilage line is not necessarily the property line, nor can it be located merely by measuring the distance separating the home and the area searched. United States v. Redmon, 138 F.3d 1109, 1112 (7th Cir.1998) (en banc). Instead, a home's "curtilage" is the area outside the home itself but so close to and intimately connected with the home and the activities that normally go on there that it can reasonably be considered part of the home. United States v. Pace, 898 F.2d 1218, 1228 (7th Cir.1990). For example, a barn located sixty feet from a home, which is kept locked and inaccessible to the general public, may be within a home's curtilage, see Severino, 256 F.3d at 654, but garbage placed in a garbage can that abuts the home is not, see United States v. Shanks, 97 F.3d 977, 979 (7th Cir.1996). Thus whether an area is within a house's curtilage depends not only on proximity to the house but also on the use of the area and efforts to shield it from public view and access as well as the nature for which it is used. United States v. Dunn, 480 U.S. 294, 302-03, 107 S.Ct. 1134, 94 L.Ed.2d 326 (1987).
Id. at 300-01, 107 S.Ct. 1134.
French's argument that the walkway's proximity to the home gives rise to an expectation of privacy is unconvincing. The shed and lean-to were located approximately twenty feet from the residence and the walkway connected the two structures. While it is true that we have found that privacy expectations are most heightened when the area in question is nearer (within 20 feet) to the home, the proximity to the home, standing by itself, does not per se, suffice to establish an area as within the curtilage. Oliver v. United States, 466 U.S. 170, 182 n. 12, 104 S.Ct. 1735, 80 L.Ed.2d 214; Hedrick, 922 F.2d at 399. A curtilage line "cannot be located merely by taking measurements from some other case or precedent and then by use of a tape measure trying to determine where the curtilage is in a different case." Redmon, 138 F.3d at 1112 (en banc). Accordingly, while the proximity of the walkway to the house may be a factor to be considered in deciding whether it is within the home's curtilage, it is but one of several factors to be applied. Dunn, 480 U.S. at 300-01, 107 S.Ct. 1134.
French also quarrels with the trial court's finding that the general public had access to the walkway to work on automotive vehicles. We disagree. In the past we have held that public drives, sidewalks, or walkways (even those which lead to a rear side door) are not within the curtilage of the home when they are not enclosed by a gate or fence. See, e.g., United States v. Evans, 27 F.3d 1219 (7th Cir.1994) (FBI agent who had plain view of the interior of defendant's home from the defendant's driveway had not made his observation from within the home's curtilage); see also United States v. Smith, 783 F.2d 648 (6th Cir.1986) (officer who drove 70 feet up a private drive and observed marijuana plants two feet away from defendant's house did not violate the home's curtilage); United States v. Ventling, 678 F.2d 63 (8th Cir.1982) (officer who photographed tire tracks on private driveway and around the front porch of a rural home did not invade the home's curtilage). In Evans we noted that "`it is not objectionable for an officer to come upon that part of [private] property which has been opened to public common use. The route which any visitor or delivery man would use is not private in the Forth Amendment sense, and thus if police take that route for the purpose of making a general inquiry or for some other legitimate reason, they are free to keep their eyes open.'" Evans, 27 F.3d at 1229 (quoting 1 W. § 2.3(e), at 407 (1987)) (internal quotations omitted).
This is not a case where an overzealous law enforcement officer, without a warrant, intending to search for illegal activity ransacked every nook and cranny of French's yard. Nor is it a case where a government agent snooped into areas that he reasonably believed to be private in hopes of uncovering evidence of a crime. Instead, it is clear from the facts in the record that Kelly came to French's property not to conduct a search, but for the express purpose of locating an errant probationer who had failed to report as ordered on numerous occasions. "Probation officers are the intermediary between the judicial system and those who are released into society, but remain under its supervision. Among other things, the probation officer directly supervises the probationers [and] keeps the courts informed of developments in each case...." Jefferson v. Ambroz, 90 F.3d 1291, 1297 (7th Cir.1996). Kelly had a good-faith belief that his probationer was on the French property and working on an automotive vehicle on the property, and he entered the premises in hopes of finding him in order that he might carry out his supervisory duties.
Finally, French also argues that the trial court committed error in holding that French failed to use the gravel walkway for a purpose connected to the intimate activities of his home. French contends that because the walkway was used in furtherance of his hobby of automotive repair, it was connected to the "intimate activities of the home" and thus within the curtilage of the home. In support, French suggests that the tools for this hobby were stored in his yard and in the shed and lean-to and that the gravel walkway furthered or somehow advanced his hobby of automotive repair. But the only purpose of the walkway was to connect the trailer to the shed, lean-to and gravel drive. French has failed to point to a scintilla of evidence to demonstrate that the walkway, in any way, harbored "the intimate activity associated with the sanctity of a man's home and the privacies of life." Dunn, 480 U.S. at 300, 107 S.Ct. 1134.
French argues that a partition, approximately four feet high and five feet in length obscured any view of the interior of the shed and lean-to from the gravel drive. The trial court, however, found credible Probation Officers Kelly and Starwalt's testimony that no such partition existed at the time of the relevant searches. French makes no attempt to show that the trial court's factual finding on this matter was clearly erroneous. Further, even had the trial court found that such a partition existed, it would have been relevant only to whether the shed and lean-to were within the curtilage of the home and not to whether the gravel walkway, from which Officer Kelly made his observations, was within the curtilage of the home. As we observed previously, the trial court's credibility determinations are given special deference for the trial judge heard the testimony and observed the witnesses at the suppression hearingGravens, 129 F.3d at 978.