Opinion ID: 2972797
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Defendants Castle and Williams

Text: Knott also appears to challenge on appeal the district court’s entry of summary judgment in favor of Defendants Castle and Williams with respect to their alleged search of the Knotts’ residential property. According to Knott, when she returned home sometime in the afternoon on September 21, 2001, Defendants Castle and Williams were “[j]ust leaving [her] property.” J.A. at 51 (Diane Knott Dep. at 46). Castle and Williams appear to have been standing on or near the driveway when Knott arrived, and Knott stated that she did not see Castle or Williams in her mobile home. In his affidavit, Defendant Castle stated that he and Williams were on “the school property adjacent to the Knott property” and that “[n]either [he] nor Carl Williams entered the Knott residence on September 21, 2001.” J.A. at 71 (Castle Aff. ¶ 5). Even construing these facts in the light most favorable to Knott, we cannot conclude that Defendants Castle and Williams violated Knott’s Fourth Amendment rights. As we explained in United States v. Smith, 783 F.2d 648, 651 (6th Cir. 1986), “[w]hether a driveway is protected from entry by police officers depends on the circumstances. The fact that a driveway is within the curtilage of a house is not determinative if its accessibility and visibility from a public highway rule out any reasonable expectation of privacy.” Here, it appears that the Knott property and the adjoining school building4 shared the portion of the driveway where Defendants Castle and Williams were standing. Although Knott asserted that Defendants Castle and Williams were on “[her] driveway” and that it was “all private property,” J.A. at 51 (Diane Knott Dep. at 46), there is no indication that Defendants Castle and Williams were on the portion of the driveway past the 4 It appears that the neighboring building may have actually housed a church at the time of these events. No. 04-3045 Knott v. Sullivan et al. Page 9 school parking lot and near the Knotts’ mobile home. Knott has presented no evidence that entry into the driveway was in any way restricted or that the driveway was hidden from view from public roads. Hence, we simply cannot conclude on the record before us that entry of summary judgment in favor of Defendants Castle and Williams was in error.