{"id":7204,"date":"2023-10-26T15:09:46","date_gmt":"2023-10-26T15:09:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/portal.bluetogold.com\/?p=7204"},"modified":"2026-09-18T06:01:39","modified_gmt":"2026-09-18T13:01:39","slug":"abandoned-or-junked-vehicle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/portal.bluetogold.com\/?p=7204","title":{"rendered":"Abandoned or Junked Vehicle"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is a question that comes up a lot.\u00a0 I’m being very proactive about this issue, which is:\u00a0 Can police tag an abandoned or junked vehicle when it’s on curtilage?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Can police tag a junk vehicle on private property?<\/h2>\n

Okay, here is the scenario.\u00a0 There’s a new ordinance.\u00a0 This comes out of the great state of Louisiana.\u00a0 There’s an ordinance that directs police officers to tag abandoned or junked vehicles on private property without consent, without a search warrant, and then give them notice that they have to get the thing out of there.<\/p>\n

Now the next question, which is not answered by the scenario is: \u201cEven if officers tag it, where does it go?\u201d\u00a0 I guess we’re going to need a warrant to seize it.\u00a0 I don’t know.\u00a0 I\u2019d like to know that.\u00a0 I\u2019d like to know what the ordinance says about that.<\/p>\n

So, can officers do this?\u00a0 It applies to code enforcement and applies to agents of the government, not just law enforcement.\u00a0 But I would recommend that cops be extremely cautious about this.<\/p>\n

Is the vehicle on curtilage or in an open field?<\/h2>\n

Here’s the question I have for you: Is the vehicle on curtilage or is it on open fields?\u00a0 <\/strong>Open fields are those areas that a person may own, but they’re not protected by the Fourth Amendment.\u00a0 Somebody can own 100 acres, but that is not going to be 100 acres of curtilage.\u00a0 It\u2019s going to be maybe an acre of curtilage.\u00a0 I\u2019d want to see pictures of what the land looks like and where the home is, and things that they have set up, like barbecues, lawn furniture, and so on.<\/p>\n

But certainly, you can own a lot more land than curtilage.\u00a0 So, if the vehicle is on curtilage, buyer beware, you’re probably going to get burned very badly.\u00a0 Curtilage is those areas that are intimately associated with the home and with family life.\u00a0 They’re physically and psychologically associated with domestic life.\u00a0 The backyard is your quintessential curtilage, your carports, your side yard, areas adjacent to your home.\u00a0 And if the car is there, my belief is 100% that cops cannot be there tagging cars.<\/p>\n

Is a driveway curtilage?<\/h2>\n

Now, if the car is in the driveway, I’ve seen cases go back and forth. But if that portion of the driveway is curtilage, I would not be on it.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 Because you don’t have the homeowner\u2019s consent to go onto their property and tag cars.\u00a0 It’s not reasonable to think that they don’t care.\u00a0 You don’t have an implied consent either.\u00a0 They didn’t tell you if you could be there or not.<\/p>\n

The only saving grace potentially, on this one, is if the ordinance announced that homeowners have to let police onto their property that have cars, but I very much doubt it says something like that.\u00a0 And even if it did, it’s subject to litigation.\u00a0 I don’t think you can just announce to people, \u201cHey, if you live in our town, your Fourth Amendment rights are subdued.\u00a0 Our interest in tagging your junk car or a brand-new car is higher than the Fourth Amendment.\u201d<\/p>\n

So even if it gave people notice, I don’t think it’s valid.\u00a0 I see this so many times around the country.\u00a0 I see officers going into people’s backyards, going on to the side yards of their houses and tagging things and tagging cars.\u00a0 I see cops going into car ports and so forth and getting VINs from cars, because they have no plates, or the plates don’t match.<\/p>\n

You may have probable cause<\/a>, but the probable cause does not get you onto their property.<\/p>\n

So that’s the problem here.<\/p>\n

What should you do instead of walking onto the property?<\/h2>\n

If it’s me, I’m not going onto people’s curtilage to enforce a junk vehicle ordinance without a good knock on the door.\u00a0 I’m knocking on the door.\u00a0 I’ll try to make contact and let the person know and maybe give them a slip of paper that says the vehicle is junk.\u00a0 But I’m not snooping on people’s property and so forth.\u00a0 My training and experience tell me that it violates the Constitution.<\/p>\n

You can also look at a case called Collins versus Virginia, the US Supreme Court, about curtilage, and how cops can’t be on there with just probable cause alone.<\/p>\n

So, there’s my answer.\u00a0 Do what you want with it.\u00a0 I’m sure the city in Louisiana had legal counsel, telling them that this was okay.\u00a0 They probably have a city attorney.\u00a0 But if I’m the city attorney, I’m saying \u201cNo!\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0 So that’s my own opinion.\u00a0 Reasonable minds can differ, but that’s where I\u2019m at on it.<\/p>\n

Okay, I hope it helps you.\u00a0 Let your friends know about these articles.\u00a0 Until next time, my friends, stay safe.<\/p>\n

Related from Blue to Gold<\/h2>\n