''United States v. Hatch'', 931

F.2d The ''Federal Reporter'' () is a case law reporter in the United States that is published by West Publishing and a part of the National Reporter System. It begins with cases decided in 1880; pre-1880 cases were later retroactively compiled by We ...

1478 (11th Cir. 1991), cert. denied, is a

United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (in case citations, 11th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the following U.S. district courts: * Middle District of Alabama * Northern District of Alabama * ...

court decision relating to the

open fields doctrine The open-fields doctrine (also open-field doctrine or open-fields rule), in the U.S. law of criminal procedure, is the legal doctrine that a "warrantless search of the area outside a property owner's curtilage" does not violate the Fourth Amendme ...

limiting the scope of the Fourth Amendment of the

U.S. Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the natio ...

. The

defendant In court proceedings, a defendant is a person or object who is the party either accused of committing a crime in criminal prosecution or against whom some type of civil relief is being sought in a civil case. Terminology varies from one jurisdic ...

challenged a conviction for drug related offenses for growing marijuana on the basis that the area searched by the police was within the "

curtilage In common law, the curtilage of a house or dwelling is the land immediately surrounding it, including any closely associated buildings and structures, but excluding any associated " open fields beyond". In feudal times every castle with its depen ...

" of his home in

Palm Beach County, Florida Palm Beach County is a county located in the southeastern part of Florida and lies directly north of Broward County and Miami-Dade County. The county had a population of 1,492,191 as of the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous county ...

. He specifically argued that because the fence surrounding his home was unfinished in the direction where the drugs were discovered that the area was still within the "curtilage." The Court of Appeals did not agree, stating: Also central to the court's findings was the presence of a barn, pig pens and several other obstacles found in the thirty yards (28 m) between the house and the drug crop.

References

External links

* 1991 in United States case law United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit cases United States controlled substances case law United States Fourth Amendment case law Palm Beach County, Florida Cannabis in Florida {{US-case-law-stub