Espinoza v. State

Fletcher, Justice.

We granted the writ of certiorari to consider whether the Court of Appeals properly applied the concept of curtilage. We disapprove of the term “common area curtilage,” on which the Court of Appeals relied, and reverse on the ground that police officers discovered the evidence within the curtilage of the defendant’s apartment for which they did not have a search warrant.

A joint city-county narcotics unit obtained a search warrant for the residence of Alejandro Espinoza at 251-B Dickson Road, Marietta, Georgia based on information received from a federal drug enforcement…