Collins v. Virginia

Collins v. Virginia
Argued January 9, 2018
Decided May 29, 2018
Full case nameRay Austin Collins v. Virginia
Docket no.16-1027
Citations584 U.S. (more)
138 S. Ct. 1663; 201 L. Ed. 2d 9
ArgumentOral argument
Case history
PriorCollins v. Commonwealth, 292 Va. 486, 790 S.E.2d 611 (2016); cert. granted, 138 S. Ct. 53 (2017).
Holding
The Fourth Amendment's motor vehicle exception for a warrantless search based on reasonable cause does not apply to vehicles stored within a person's home or its curtilage.
Court membership
Chief Justice
John Roberts
Associate Justices
Anthony Kennedy · Clarence Thomas
Ruth Bader Ginsburg · Stephen Breyer
Samuel Alito · Sonia Sotomayor
Elena Kagan · Neil Gorsuch
Case opinions
MajoritySotomayor, joined by Roberts, Kennedy, Thomas, Ginsburg, Breyer, Kagan, Gorsuch
ConcurrenceThomas
DissentAlito

Collins v. Virginia, No. 16-1027, 584 U.S. ___ (2018), was a case before the Supreme Court of the United States involving search and seizure. At issue was whether the Fourth Amendment's motor vehicle exception permits a police officer uninvited and without a warrant to enter private property, approach a house, and search a vehicle parked a few feet from the house that is otherwise visible from off the property. In an 8–1 judgment, the Supreme Court ruled that the automobile exception does not apply to vehicles parked within the home or the curtilage of a private homeowner.