https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/curtilage

Okay, answer me this.




From these two photos taken from my front porch can you reasonably determine the status of either vehicle's tag? Georgia is a rear tag only state. Tag is the sole determining factor in code enforcement.

I was cited for the blazer.

My outhouse lawyering says "show me the warrant".



This is the most direct route from road to my front door. No deviation through the side yards.

I'm no lawyer.

but it looks like the rear of the Blazer is visible from the railroad tracks?

I don't think curtilage is determined by what you can see from your front porch.

Not visible from the tracks. Last photo is looking due west. Blazer is due north, all photos taken from the same location.

My understanding of curtilage law is that LEO is allowed to travel the public access route to the nearest or obviously most used door to knock or ring to make contact, they may not wander off that route to conduct a search without warrant or exigent circumstances.

if they have one of your tags they can probably pull up all the vehicles you own and seeing a blazer with out of date tags.

did they leave the citation on the front door, the mail , or on the windsheild?

yes they probably just walked over and looked when they hadn't seen it move.

here they will go look

citations and code have different boundaries by state and because they are non criminal

fight it in court.

They knocked on the door but knowing my hours and the fact that they already knew to much about what is on my property told me they had already had them a walk around when I wasn't home.

I'm learning that there is a push being made to "clean up" the county. Certain commissioners are wanting to up property taxes and promote develpment. The rural area livestock owners are even coming under fire with animal control actually going out to inspect. Cow gets out for any reason, fined.

Yet, directly across those tracks and across the other road there are two different homeless encampments in the woods. They won't do anything about those even though one of the property owners has begged for help from the county. He was told it's a civil matter.

BTW, that's county code enforcement which is completely different from county sheriff. Sherriff is a constitutional office.

I'd tell them to kiss my hairy, white arse!

Thats my plan but this is the same judge that once told me that state law doesnt apply in spalding county.

Our magistrate court ain't nothing but a mafia shake down. Walk in and the first thing you see is a dozen big gorilla looking officers in full battle rattle, none of them a sherriff's deputy or city police. You're instantly stopped and told to fill out and sign a form declaring your plea without any discussion of your charges or penalties. You are encouraged to nolo in all cases.

You sit and listen, waiting to be called and realize that no ones going to jail. Everyone gets fined 150-300 per and six months suspended upon payment of the fines due immediately. If not they offer a payment plan through probation, which is a private contractor that incurs additional fees. Just sign your life over to the probation company for the duration.

I figure they're raking in about 1500-2000 per hour with that strong arm racket.

Oh, and not an attorney in sight as they cost more per hour than any fine given and no prosector as these are civil fines not criminal. Supposedly the 80 year old cat lady on the bench is one though.

BTW, in that case where I was told state law doesnt apply. Cat in foothold killed by stray dog. I took it to a bench trial in front of her and in spite of state law clearly saying cruelty does not apply to a nuisance animal to be removed from a home or business I was found guilty of misdemeanor animal cruelty for the one killed by a stray dog not under my control but not for the one that was caught and released, unharmed, to animal control when i was facing two counts not for the dog but for the traps used.

This old bat makes it up as she goes along.

Yet she keeps getting reelected every four years.

If you were to look at the gallery of her courtroom and take note of the demographics you'll see an interesting low value economic common denominator and surprisingly, it's not black. I've yet to see any notable person of the county in front of her bench.

I attempted to appeal that case to state court. Sure just post a 1k bond and this bailiff will escort you to the jail to be booked in before release once you pay the bond.

I paid the 300 fine instead.

What's the ticket for? Expired tag? Around here you can have as many unregistered vehicles as you want on private property. HOAs (where they exist) can have rules against it and fines for it. But the city can only fuss about unlicesend vehicles on public roadways. My neighbor is a mechanic at a local auto dealership. He trades and fixes vehicles as a side gig. He got a ticket recently for havning an unlicensed vehicle on the street, but all he had to do is swap which one is in his driveway.

Warrior , there is some good info on Wikipedia about the 4th amendment.

Here is a tiny piece of it -

While open fields are not protected by the Fourth Amendment, the curtilage, or outdoor area immediately surrounding the home, is protected. Courts have treated this area as an extension of the house and as such subject to all the privacy protections afforded a person's home (unlike a person's open fields) under the Fourth Amendment. The curtilage is "intimately linked to the home, both physically and psychologically", and is where "privacy expectations are most heightened."

All vehicles visible from the road must be currently tagged. Currently tagged is how the county nuisance code defines disabled vehicles. It could be a 2025 showroom condition vette, without a current tag it's in violation. Likewise, it could be like that blazer with the right front tire missing due to busted ball joint and be perfecty legal with a current tag which it now has. Long as the county gets paid I guess.

That or stored inside a structure. Tarp or fence not acceptable. No solid fences or fences taller than four foot on property frontage.

That's my understanding as well. I also understand that anything observed in plain sight from the vantage point LEO is allowed to be, sidewalk/front porch/public road, is fair game. At no time have I ever consented for anyone to enter and wander my property without permission.

Maybe I'm just being petty but I'm one of those arseholes that believe what is mine is mine and it's none of anyone's business. I mind mine and expect it of others.

…. You got a ticket and you weren’t even driving it ?

Yup

is your property posted against trespassing?

Not a lawyer but I think you're confusing curtilidge with implied consent. Curtiledge is that part of your property directly connected to the house. Woods or fields near the house arent curtililidge and you have less property and privacy rights there. SCOTUS got it wrong when they said property rights don't extend beyond the curtilidge. Implied consent is when the UPS guy and Jehovas Witnesses are allowed to walk up to your front door. It's assumed that the path to your front door is open to anyone to visit including the police unless you have a sign.

I 100% agree with ya.
I've looked into 'curtilage' a bit because it matters protecting my 4th amendment rights.
Courts have agreed , if you order a pizza and the pizza guy shows up he will take to the most direct route to the main entrance to contact you. Police have to follow the same path. No straying off that path by even 1 foot. Their head can look 360° in any direction is fair game , but no straying off path.
Just like the pizza guy is not supposed to be walking over to look at the back of your Blazer. If I seen a pizza guy that I called snooping around my stuff , I'd be ticked off.

…. What in the jumped up (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) does it matter if your registration out if you’re not operating the vehicle

… that don’t fly around here…. Matter of fact I go years with mine out lol

Throw a tarp over everything on your property.