Jenkins

Defendant Lynn Lee Jenkins permitted two uniformed officers to search her motel room when they knocked on her door during daytime hours, asked for her identification, and inquired if she was on parole. She was not on parole, and the officers did not have a reasonable suspicion that she was engaged in criminal activity. She was arrested and charged with unlawful possession of a controlled substance found during the search. Defendant moved to suppress the evidence, arguing the “knock and talk” procedure employed by the officers violated her Fourth Amendment rights. The trial court granted the motion and dismissed the case when the People were unable to proceed.

The district attorney contends the court erred in granting the motion because there is no requirement that police officers have a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity before they can knock on someone’s door during daytime hours to ask questions or even to ask for consent to search. We agree and therefore reverse and remand the matter for further proceedings to determine whether, under the totality of the circumstances, the encounter was consensual.

FACTS

Officer Quinn was the only witness to testify at the…