There's No Place Like Homestead: An Expansive Interpretation of the Fourth Amendment and Its Impact on the Open Fields Doctrine

Authors

• D.M. Dowden

Abstract

This Note discusses the impact the open fields doctrine has had on Fourth Amendment analysis and the effect a re-interpretation of the Fourth Amendment would have on private landowners. Part I provides the necessary background of the development of the open fields doctrine in the greater context of the Fourth Amendment. Part II discusses how the modem revival of the constitutionally protected areas analysis, along with an increasing sophistication of technology, has altered open fields doctrine examination. Part III identifies issues the current open fields framework has caused for private landowners, including a discussion regarding individual and societal changes in privacy expectations and their inconsistency with the current doctrine. Finally, Part IV offers an expansive interpretation of the actual wording of the Fourth Amendment to combat the current doctrine's restriction on landowner privacy.

Recommended Citation

D.M. Dowden, There's No Place Like Homestead: An Expansive Interpretation of the Fourth Amendment and Its Impact on the Open Fields Doctrine, 29 U. Fla. J.L. & Pub. Pol'y 121 (2018).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.ufl.edu/jlpp/vol29/iss1/7