Searches Within the Curtilage of a Home

• Warrantless Searches of Structures Within the Curtilage of a Home
• Exigent Circumstances

The Fourth Amendment’s restrictions of warrantless searches of a residence extend to other structures within the curtilage of the home.  Whether exigent circumstances justify a warrantless search depends on the circumstances known to the officer at the time of the search.  The persistent odor of smoke, with no actual fire, does not allow for the warrantless search of a cabinet found inside a shed within the curtilage of a home.

A Milpitas Fire Department captain was a part of a crew that responded to defendant Joseph Nunes’ home one afternoon.  Although the 911 call indicated that there was a structure fire, with fire coming from the house, nothing was found to be going on when the fire department got there.  The house did not appear to be on fire.  Neighbors, however, told the fire captain that they had recently seen a plume of smoke coming from the backyard.  Police at the scene found no one to be home.  So the fire captain ....