Cops used night vision goggles to walk up someone's driveway with NO warrant.

Today, we break down People v. Lieng (2010) — a California case that explains one of the most misunderstood concepts in Fourth Amendment law: curtilage. When a sheriff's sergeant walked up a private driveway at 4:30 AM wearing night vision goggles to investigate a marijuana grow, the homeowners argued it was an illegal search. The court disagreed — and the reasoning reveals exactly how much (or how little) of your own property is actually protected from police surveillance.

We cover:
✅ What "curtilage" means and why it matters for your 4th Amendment rights
✅ The 4-factor legal test courts use to decide what counts as curtilage vs. "open fields"
✅ Why night vision goggles were ruled legal — and how that's different from the thermal imaging case Kyllo v. United States
✅ Practical takeaways: how to actually protect your property from warrantless surveillance

📌 Case: People v. Lieng, 190 Cal.App.4th 1213 (2010)

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#Curtilage #FourthAmendment #NightVisionGoggles #CriminalLaw #LawExplained #Lawstache #SearchAndSeizure #ConstitutionalLaw #CaseBreakdown #LegalEducation

Anton Vialtsin, Esq.
LAWSTACHE™ LAW FIRM | Criminal Defense and Business Law
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(619) 357-6677

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