Opinion ID: 1349971
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Seizure of Lawn Tractor Without a Warrant:

Text: In May 1987, Detective Prince of the Sioux Falls Police Department noticed a Model 116 John Deere lawn tractor mounted on a trailer in front of Lodermeier's residence. Prince was at the residence to question Lodermeier about some stolen furniture. There was a spot on the right side of the lawn tractor that he thought may have once held a serial number. The officer's experience with vehicle identification numbers (VINs) was such numbers generally are removed intentionally and do not fall off. Their suspicions aroused, Prince and Folkerts contacted a John Deere dealer and confirmed the spot on the lawn tractor should have had a serial number. When asked about the location of a possible hidden serial number, however, the manager of the dealership was unable to provide any information. In November of 1987, Lodermeier reported a ladder stolen. Detectives Prince and Folkerts went to Lodermeier's home to investigate. Lodermeier was not there, but the lawn tractor was in the driveway. The officers called the John Deere Company in order to ascertain whether any hidden serial numbers existed. They were told they could find a hidden serial number on the lawn tractor's transaxle. The officers went back purportedly to talk to Lodermeier about the stolen ladder. Lodermeier did not answer the door. The officers approached the lawn tractor, still in the driveway, and found the transaxle number. The officers did not move the lawn tractor or any other item in the driveway. They merely stooped over, observed the number, and recorded it. The officers called the John Deere Company again. Based on the transaxle serial number, they learned the lawn tractor had been stolen. The officers returned and seized the lawn tractor from Lodermeier's driveway the same day. Lodermeier claims the seizure was illegal as it did not fall within the plain view exception to the search warrant requirement. We believe the seizure was proper. Crucial to our determination of whether the seizure of the lawn tractor was legal is whether Lodermeier had a reasonable expectation of privacy. If Lodermeier had no reasonable expectation of privacy, no search within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment occurred. State v. Myers, 117 Wash.2d 332, 815 P.2d 761, 768-69 (1991); State v. Davis, 228 N.W.2d 67, 72 (Iowa 1975); People v. Brewer, 112 Mich.App. 670, 317 N.W.2d 218 (1981). See Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347, 351, 88 S.Ct. 507, 511, 19 L.Ed.2d 576, 582 (1967) (What a person knowingly exposes to the public... is not a subject of Fourth Amendment protection.). For the reasons given below, we conclude no search was conducted and the seizure was proper. As to the garden tractor itself, no physical intrusion was required. Detective Prince merely read the hidden serial number on the transfer case underneath the tractor. Thus, examining the serial number on the transaxle of the lawn tractor was not a search for purposes of fourth amendment analysis. See Arizona v. Hicks, 480 U.S. 321, 325, 107 S.Ct. 1149, 1152, 94 L.Ed.2d 347, 354 (1987) (no search where officer merely recorded serial numbers without disturbing equipment); New York v. Class, 475 U.S. 106, 114, 106 S.Ct. 960, 966, 89 L.Ed.2d 81, 90 (1986) (no expectation of privacy in VINs because they are normally in plain view, and motor vehicles are pervasively regulated). Nor does the fact that the tractor was located on private property alter our conclusion. The lawn and garden tractor was in Lodermeier's driveway in open view to Detective Prince and Sergeant Folkerts who were lawfully on Lodermeier's property to question him about a ladder he had reported stolen. The standard for determining when the search of an area surrounding a residence violates fourth amendment guarantees no longer depends on outmoded property concepts, but whether the defendant has a legitimate expectation of privacy in that area. United States v. Ventling, 678 F.2d 63, 66 (8th Cir.1982). Accord State v. Wellner, 318 N.W.2d 324, 328 (S.D.1982) (citing Rakas v. Illinois, 439 U.S. 128, 143-44 n. 12, 99 S.Ct. 421, 430-31 n. 12, 58 L.Ed.2d 387, 401 n. 12 (1978)). Various factors determine whether one has a reasonable expectation of privacy outside the home. They include: 1) whether the area is part of the curtilage; 2) whether the area is open to public view; 3) whether the property is owned or controlled by the defendant; 4) whether there are obstructions to vision of others outside the property; and 5) whether the area is frequented by strangers. People v. Dinsmore, 103 Mich.App. 660, 303 N.W.2d 857, 861 (1981). See also Wellner, 318 N.W.2d at 328. A driveway is a semi-private area. Finch v. State, 644 P.2d 1378, 1380 (Okla.Crim.App.1982). Even though it is part of the curtilage, a police officer with legitimate business may enter a driveway and, while there, may inspect objects in open view to discover whether they are stolen. State v. Crea, 305 Minn. 342, 233 N.W.2d 736, 739 (1975). [6] If the officer discovers evidence of a crime, he may seize it. Dinsmore, 303 N.W.2d at 863. See also Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573, 587, 100 S.Ct. 1371, 1380, 63 L.Ed.2d 639, 651 (1980) (objects such as weapons or contraband found in a public place may be seized by the police without a warrant). We do not believe the trial court abused its discretion in refusing to suppress the seized lawn and garden tractor as evidence in Lodermeier's prosecution.