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OH6: Knock-and-talk on garage door was valid

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Officer had an anonymous tip from a CI that a meth lab was in defendant’s house. He pulled into the driveway and heard music from the closed garage. He did the knock and talk on the garage door, and it was valid. State v. Birdsall, 2010 Ohio 2382, 2010 Ohio App. LEXIS 1959 (6th Dist. May 28, 2010)*: [*P16] Ruskey testified that as he pulled into appellant's driveway, he saw the garage directly in front of him. The house was located five feet to the left. He testified that appellant's driveway was standard sized, approximately 25 feet long. He approached the garage because he heard music coming from inside and he thought that someone might be there. There is no evidence of an enclosure around the garage and there is no evidence that the garage was hidden from street view...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on June 03, 2010 (boomark / email).