Sixth Circuit Holds that Chalking Vehicle Tires is a Fourth Amendment Search

The Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled last week that city parking enforcement officers’ use of chalk to mark the tires of parked vehicles to track how long they have been parked is a Fourth Amendment search. And, on the facts before it, the court held that the city failed to show that the search was reasonable. Facts. Alison Taylor was cited by the City of Saginaw, Michigan for unlawful parking on fifteen separate occasions over a three year period. Each time, the parking enforcement officer used chalk to mark Taylor’s tires, returning to the car after the time for parking had passed and ascertaining from the chalk marks that the vehicle had not moved. Each citation listed the date and time the chalk was placed on Taylor car. Taylor sued the city and the parking enforcement officer who issued the citations, alleging that chalking her tires without her consent or a search warrant violated the Fourth Amendment. The city moved to dismiss, arguing that chalking was not a Fourth Amendment search and that even if it was, it was reasonable under the community caretaker exception. The federal district court found that the chalking was a search, but deemed it reasonable because there is a lesser expectation of privacy in automobiles and because the search was subject to the community caretaker exceptions to the warrant requirement. Taylor appealed and the Sixth Circuit in reversed. Taylor v. City of Saginaw, No. 17-2126, 2019 WL 1757953, ___ F.3d. ___ (6th Cir. [...]