North Carolina Supreme Court Upholds Warrantless Seizure of Drugs on a Home’s Curtilage

The Fourth Amendment protects the home as well as its curtilage, which is defined as the area immediately surrounding the home and associated with it. Recently, the North Carolina Supreme Court in State v. Grice, 2015 WL 304075 (Jan. 23, 2015), was confronted with a Fourth Amendment issue involving the curtilage. The court held, reversing the court of appeals, ___ N.C. App. ___, 733 S.E.2d 354 (2012), that officers who were validly on the curtilage of a residence to conduct a knock and talk did not violate the Fourth Amendment when they saw marijuana plants 15 yards away on the curtilage and warrantlessly seized them. Facts. The Johnston County Sheriff’s Office received an anonymous tip that defendant Grice was growing marijuana at his rural residence. Two detectives with extensive training in narcotics investigations, including identification of marijuana, were dispatched to the residence to conduct a knock and talk. After entering the driveway, the detectives parked behind a white vehicle there. The front door was inaccessible, covered with plastic, and obscured with furniture. They noticed that the driveway led to a side door, which appeared to be used as the main entrance. When they parked their vehicle, two dogs ran to their car and started barking. Detective Allen remained in the driveway to calm the dogs while Detective Gussman knocked on the side door, but no one answered. From the driveway, Allen noticed several buckets at a distance of about 15 yards and recognized marijuana plants growing in three of them. Allen [...]