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SUPREME COURT OF LOUISIANA No. 99-KK-0627 STATE OF LOUISIANA v. TORRANCE DEARY On Writ of Certiorari to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeal

PER CURIAM:* The front porch of a private residence falls within the curtilage of the home for Fourth Amendment purposes because it encompasses "the area around the home to which the activity of home life extends." Oliver v. United States, 466 U.S. 170, 181, A front

n. 12, 104 S.Ct. 1735, 1743, 80 L.Ed.2d 214 (1984).

porch does not necessarily enjoy the same measure of protection accorded the home by the Fourth Amendment, however, because of "an almost implicit understanding and custom in this country that, in the absence of signs or warning, a residence may be approached and the occupants summoned to the door by knocking." State v. Sanders, 374 So.2d 1186, 1189 (La. 1979). Taking

advantage of this custom in the present case, New Orleans Police officer Weise approached the front door on the porch of the residence located at 1924 Jackson Avenue, and knocked loudly on the side of the house to summon its occupants. The front door

and screened door were open, and the officer could see far enough into the residence to observe the defendant standing in an interior doorway with his back to the front door while he talked on the telephone. At the sound of the officer's knock, the

*

Lemmon, J., not on panel.

See La. S.Ct. Rule IV, Part II,

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