Real Estate & Property Law

I won't go into the details of the decision since Professor Salkin analyzes the case here, but the case is important since many zoning ordinances are criminal or quasi-criminal in nature.  The primary penalties for violation of Maui County's zoning ordinance, for example, are criminal, with the administrative enforcement process serving as an alternative -- or additional -- process. 

In Jacob, the property owner was actually prosecuted criminally, but the court held that this was not the determinative factor, and that a zoning inspector is not subject to the warrant requirement only if she is conducting a search for "purely administrative purposes."  Slip op. at 4.  The mere threat of criminal prosecution is enough to trigger the need to obtain a warrant.  The court spelled out other factors that led to the conclusion that a warrant should have been obtained: