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Burglary Charges Dismissed on Unlawful Patrol in Dormitory

By Walin & Klarich

A recent Court of Appeals decision held that dormitory hallways have the same privacy protection as inside a home. The case regarded an incident on a college campus in which campus police were investigating a dormitory burglary that occurred in February of 2006. A police officer stopped at a sixth floor door after hearing music and voices. The officer attempted to draw the students out of their room by covering the peephole, knocking, and saying ?this is Matt.? He eventually identified himself as an officer, at which point a student named Jacob Houvener opened the door. Inside the room were a stolen laptop and guitar. The Trial Court Judge dismissed the burglary charges against Houvener, stating that the students had a reasonable expectation of privacy...continue to full post

Full post as published by Southern California Criminal Defense Blog on August 05, 2008 (boomark / email).