In common law, the curtilage of a house or dwelling is the land immediately surrounding it, including any closely associated buildings and structures, but excluding any associated "open fields beyond". In feudal times every castle with its dependent buildings was protected by a surrounding wall, and all the land within the wall was termed the curtilage. The term excludes any closely associated buildings, structures, or divisions that contain the separate intimate activities of their own respective occupants, with those occupying residents being persons other than those residents of the house or dwelling of which the building is associated.
In some legal jurisdictions, the curtilage of a dwelling forms an exterior boundary, within which a home owner can have a reasonable expectation of privacy and where "intimate home activities" take place. It is a basic legal concept underlying the concepts of search and seizure, conveyancing of real property, burglary, trespass, self-defense, and land use planning.
In urban properties, the location of the curtilage may be self-evident from the position of fences or walls. For larger, more rural properties, it may be a matter of debate as to where the private area ends and the "open fields" start.
Etymology
The word derives from ; or ("court, yard, garden"); (court) + (diminutive suffix) + (suffix indicating a state of being).
Curtilage in United States law
Common law
At common law, which derives from English law, curtilage has been defined as "the open space situated within a common enclosure belonging to a dwelling-house." Black's Law Dictionary of 1891 defined it as:
Where American homes are generally less likely than their English counterparts to include fenced or walled enclosures, the courts have not strictly held to such a requirement. In practice, determining the boundaries of curtilage has proven to be imprecise and subject to controversy.
Fourth Amendment
General definition
The U.S. Supreme Court has held that for the purposes of the Fourth Amendment, an area immediately surrounding a house or dwelling is curtilage if it harbors the "intimate activity associated with the 'sanctity of a man's home and the privacies of life.'"
In United States v. Dunn (1987), the Court provided guidance, saying that, "curtilage questions should be resolved with particular reference to four factors: the proximity of the area claimed to be curtilage to the home, whether the area is included within an enclosure surrounding the home, the nature of the uses to which the area is put, and the steps taken by the resident to protect the area from observation by people passing by."
In Florida v. Jardines (2013), the Court held, in a 5–4 decision by Justice Antonin Scalia, that the curtilage is protected from police dogs sniffing for marijuana:
In Caniglia v. Strom (2021), the Court noted only a "... few permissible invasions of the home and its curtilage. Perhaps most familiar, for example, are searches and seizures pursuant to a valid warrant." The court rejected the standalone doctrine that police "caretaking" duties justify warrantless searches and seizures in the home and its curtilage.
First factor: distance
In Dunn, the Court said that the location of a barn, being from the home and outside of the fence which completely encircled the home, suggested that it was outside the home's curtilage.
In Jardines, the Court found that a porch right in front of a private house is part of the curtilage.
Second factor: enclosure by fence
In Dunn, the Court said that although the area was surrounded by a fence, the home was surrounded by a different fence and that fence was obviously intended to demark a specific area of land immediately adjacent to the house that is readily identifiable as part and parcel of the house.
Third factor: nature of use
In Dunn, the Court said that law enforcement officials had evidence that the area was not being used for intimate activities of the home, namely that it was being used to store large amounts of phenylacetic acid (used in the illegal manufacture of drugs) and that it had a very, very strong smell.
In Jardines, the Court specifically named a front porch as a prime example of curtilage; even though Girl Scouts or salespersons can knock on the front door, they must leave immediately if there is no answer.