U.S. v. Dunn, 81-1200

Citation782 F.2d 1226
Decision Date04 February 1986
Docket NumberNo. 81-1200,81-1200
PartiesUNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Ronald Dale DUNN, Defendant-Appellant.
CourtUnited States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (5th Circuit)

Louis Dugas, Jr., Orange, Tex., for Dunn.

Charles T. Newlin, John F. Hirling, Stephen Shelnutt, Houston, Tex., for Carpenter.

Robert Lyle Carpenter, pro se.

Helen M. Eversberg, U.S. Atty., Sidney Powell, Asst. U.S. Atty., San Antonio, Tex., Ann T. Wallace, Atty., Appellate Section, Crim. Div., Dept. of Justice, Washington, D.C., for U.S Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas.

Before WISDOM, POLITZ and TATE, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:

Upon first consideration of this appeal we reversed the convictions of Ronald Dale Dunn finding, inter alia, that a barn which was the subject of a warrantless search was within the protected curtilage of the Dunn ranch house. United States v. Dunn, 674 F.2d 1093 (5th Cir.1982). The Supreme Court granted the government's petition for writ of certiorari, United States v. Dunn, 467 U.S. 1201, 104 S.Ct. 2380, 81 L.Ed.2d 340 (1984), and vacated our disposition of Dunn's appeal, remanding "for further consideration in light of Oliver v. United States," 466 U.S. 170, 104 S.Ct. 1735, 80 L.Ed.2d 214 (1984). On remand we held that the barn in question was not within the curtilage, United States v. Dunn, 766 F.2d 880 (5th Cir.1985). By an Order dated January 17, 1986, 781 F.2d 52, we vacated that opinion and returned the matter to the panel.

Upon further collegial consideration of the mandate of the Supreme Court in the course of the disposition of the government's petition for rehearing with suggestion for rehearing en banc, we have determined that the holding and teachings of Oliver v. United States neither direct nor require that the subject barn be found to be outside the curtilage of the Dunn ranch house. We again have examined painstakingly the facts reflected in this record, as set forth in detail in our two prior panel opinions, against the backdrop of Oliver v. United States and other decisions of the Supreme Court and of this court. To reflect the relative positions of the buildings and improvements, we attach a site plat of the ranch house enclave which was filed in evidence as a government exhibit. Upon studied reflection, we now conclude and hold that the barn was inside the protected curtilage.

Accordingly, we reinstate the opinion rendered on May 7, 1982, reported at 674 F.2d 1093 ...

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5 cases
  • United States v. Dunn, 85-998
    • United States
    • U.S. Supreme Court
    • March 3, 1987
    ...and that shining a flashlight into a protected area, without probable cause to search the area, is permissible. Pp. 303-305. 782 F.2d 1226 (CA 5 1985), WHITE, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which REHNQUIST, C.J., and BLACKMUN, POWELL, STEVENS, and O'CONNOR, JJ., joined, and in a......
  • U.S. v. Broadhurst
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit
    • December 2, 1986
    ...unless viewer stood immediately adjacent to barn), vacated, 467 U.S. 1201, 104 S.Ct. 2380, 81 L.Ed.2d 340 (1984) 10, reinstated, 782 F.2d 1226 (5th Cir.1986) 11; Wheeler v. State, 659 S.W.2d 381, 391 (Tex.Crim.App.1982) (defendants had reasonable expectation of privacy in opaque greenhouse ......
  • U.S. v. Calabrese
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit
    • August 21, 1987
    ...given to the home are inapposite. The defendants cite United States v. Broadhurst, 612 F.Supp. 777 (E.D.Cal.1985), and United States v. Dunn, 782 F.2d 1226 (5th Cir.1986), for the proposition that the detached structure was within the curtilage. Both of these cases have been reversed on app......
  • U.S. v. Traynor
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit
    • April 13, 1993
    ...Despite having trespassed on Dunn's property and crossed over a fence less than ten yards behind Dunn's house, see United States v. Dunn, 782 F.2d 1226, 1228 (5th Cir.1986) (map depicting Dunn's ranch), when the police officers arrived "at their vantage point ... outside the curtilage of th......
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