There is no reasonable expectation of privacy when sitting on one\u2019s porch with a visible gun. United States v. Locklear, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3295 (E.D. N.C. January 11, 2012)*:<\/p>\n
Here, the court finds that Locklear did not manifest a reasonable expectation of privacy when he visibly possessed a gun while sitting on the front porch of his house. It appears that the front yard of Locklear’s residence is not surrounded by any physical barriers, such as fences, nor are there signs such as “No Trespassing” or “Private Property” which would indicate some reasonable expectation of privacy. The front porch was also not enclosed with any impediments that would either block its view nor would preclude the casual visitor from entering the area. In fact, a visitor would have to enter the front porch to even arrive at the front entrance of Locklear’s home. Ultimately, the front yard and the front porch was as open to the police officer as to any delivery person, guest, other members of the neighborhood, or the general public and no evidence has been provided to contrary. As Locklear was in an area that was open and exposed to public view, it appears that he lacked the requisite reasonable expectation of privacy to trigger the protection of the Fourth Amendment. Accordingly, the court finds that the police officer’s action of entering Locklear’s front yard and front porch did not amount to a “search” as contemplated by the Fourth Amendment.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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