# Annotated Case Brief: Florida v. Jardines

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**Preliminary Notes and Tips**

In different portions of this "instructional" brief, I have inserted <mark style="color:red;">explanatory context in red</mark> inside a box for parts that might not be self-evident from the case. You can expand the box to see the explanations. These comments are ***not*** part of a case brief; they are merely guidance or tips. Case briefs can take a little practice to become good at.

A few introductory tips: To better understand a case, it is good to do an initial scan of the case to look for a couple of things. (I say, "initial scan," because cases usually need to be read more than once to really understand the important pieces.)

* **First**, you may want (or need) to skip to the end of the case to see the ultimate result.
  * In a given decision, it is common for courts to go back and forth, telling the reader what one party argued and addressing that, and then telling the reader what the other party argued and addressing that. This can be confusing because courts may both agree and disagree with certain points each party makes, leading the reader to think the court is leaning in one direction and then the other. So, it helps to get an idea of who wins **before** you really dig into the case. (This is not a piece of fiction, so waiting until the end to get the answer is unhelpful.)
  * If you skip to the end, courts will usually make a statement that they either affirm or reverse the lower court's decision. Sometimes, courts also make that statement near the beginning, but if not, skip to the end. **If the court says, "affirm," then the respondent wins and the petitioner loses. If the court says, "reverse," then the petitioner wins and the respondent loses.**
* **Second**, before reading the statement of facts that led to the dispute, find the "issue" in the case, which is also referred to as the "question." (And there may be multiple.) Look for these to help you complete the Issue section of the brief. Typically, "issue," "question," or both will be in the opinion; sometimes, the court will use other language about it needs to "decide" or "determine."
* **Third**, although the statement of facts leading to the dispute appears near the beginning of a court's opinion, do not read through them first. Starting with the issue (and sometimes even the Rule as well) can help you identify which facts will turn out to be the facts that will be relevant to the outcome. Frequently, courts go into detail to paint context for the reader, but all of the facts will not be relevant for the case brief. Also, sometimes relevant facts are listed elsewhere in the case (such as in the Analysis) that weren't listed in the statement of facts that appears early in the case. So, be on the lookout for those facts as well. (And if they are identified later in the case, they are most assuredly relevant to the outcome.) **The final version of the facts for the brief should usually be your last step when completing the final version of your brief.**
* **Fourth**, in many opinions, the applicable Rule or Rules (i.e., the legal standards on which the court's analysis are based) are located in a section or sections following the factual background that led to the issue before the court. However, sometimes, they are scattered, depending on how the court is addressing the issues and arguments. In this case, they are essentially separated because the court divides its discussion into different areas of the opinion.
* **Fifth**, the court's Analysis (also known as its rationale or reasoning supporting its holding) follows its explanation of the applicable rules of law. Generally, a court's methodology is the apply the rules governing the dispute to the facts of the case. Sometimes, as is the case here, it is making one or more brand new rules because it hasn't dealt with these issues previously.
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## *Florida v. Jardines,* 133 S. Ct. 1409, 569 U.S. 1 (2013)

## Relevant Facts

{% hint style="info" %} <mark style="color:red;">**Hint: Remember, what you write here shouldn't be finalized until you have examined both the facts in the statement of facts and additional facts that may pop up during the court's discussion.**</mark>
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One month after the Miami-Dade Police Det. Pedraja received an unverified tip that marijuana was being grown as Jardines' home, the DEA sent a surveillance team to the home, which included Det. Pedraja. After observing no activity, Pedraja and Det. Bartelt approached the home's front porch with a drug-sniffing dog, which was on a six-foot leash. The dog indicated smelling drugs, the strongest point being at the front door. They left and obtained a search warrant based on what they learned at the home. Later in the day, the warrant was executed, and marijuana plants were discovered during a search of the home.

Jardines argued that the marijuana plants should have been excluded from evidence on the basis that the canine investigation constituted an unreasonable search because it was performed without probable cause.

## Issue (Question)

{% hint style="info" %} <mark style="color:red;">**The issue is the bottom-line legal question that the court is answering. Some cases include multiple issues (and thus multiple holdings).**</mark>
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Does using a drug-sniffing dog on a homeowner's porch to investigate the contents of the home constitute a "search" within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment?

## Holding (Decision)

Yes.

{% hint style="info" %} <mark style="color:red;">**A court's holding is the ultimate answer to the issue/question. (The analysis section of the brief will summarize the context and reasoning supporting the holding.)**</mark>
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## Rules

{% hint style="info" %} <mark style="color:red;">**The rule (or rules) is the law of the case that the court used as the test (basically, the formula) that forms the basis of its analysis to arrive at the holding.**</mark>
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* A search occurs when the government obtains information by physically intruding" on persons, houses, papers, or effects."
* Because a person's reasonable expectation of privacy is highest with respect to their home, the home's curtilage is protected as part of the home.
  * Curtilage is the area "immediately surrounding and associated with the home"; it is the area "intimately linked to the home, both physically and psychologically," includes which extends to areas involving the "activity of home life."
    * In many situations, the area that includes curtilage is understood from one's daily experience.
    * Social norms can create an implied license to enter one's curtilage without expressly being invited, such as approaching the "front path, knocking promptly, briefly waiting, and not lingering if not invited in.
      * The implied license is limited to (1) a particular area and (2) a specific purpose.

## Analysis (Reasoning)

{% hint style="info" %} <mark style="color:red;">**The analysis (also known as reasoning or rationale) is where a court directly applies the rules to the specific facts of the case to arrive at an answer to the issue/question. (The rules constitute a "formula," and the facts constitute the variables that are inserted into the formula.)**</mark>
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* One's front porch is intimately linked to the home and the activity of one's home life, thus the officers entered the curtilage when entering the front porch.
* When entering this particular area, the specific purpose was not what would be associated with social norms. Objectively, the purpose was investigatory, specifically to conduct a search, and was performed without permission. The police dog had no other purpose than to investigate. This was not like a consensual "knock-and-talk," which would be more associated with visitors to someone's home. Thus, there was no implied license.
* The information gathered from the police dog to form probable cause necessary for a search warrant was only gathered by intruding into an area where Jardines had a reasonable expectation of privacy without license to do so constitutes a search. Without a license to conduct the search, the search was unreasonable.

***


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