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CA5: Knock-and-talk was actually an illegal entry, so consent was vitiated

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

The knock-and-talk in this case was a virtual entry without a warrant. Voluntariness of alleged consent was not the issue. Instead, the question was whether the alleged consent was an independent act of free will. Reversed. United States v. Hernandez, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 18057 (5th Cir. August 26, 2010) (unpublished)*: Our holding in Gomez-Moreno applies almost precisely to this case. The officers' conduct during their knock-and-talk—banging on doors and windows while demanding entry, attempting a forced entry by breaking the glass on Hernandez's door, then relying on her admission that an illegal alien was present as probable cause to enter—violated the Fourth Amendment. The district court should have acknowledged that the officers' knock-and-talk conduct was an unreasonable search...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on August 30, 2010 (boomark / email).