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Dick Gassman March 17, 1999 Page 2 The curtilage is the area surrounding the home which "harbors the intimate activity associated with the sanctity of a man's home and the privacies of life." Simply put, curtilage is the area around the home to which the activity of home life extends. A backyard or back porch will almost certainly be within the curtilage. To determine whether an area is within the curtilage of a home,courts examine four factors: 1) the proximity of the area to the home; 2)whether the area is included within an enclosure surrounding the home; 3)the nature of uses to which the area is put; and 4) steps taken by the resident to protect the area from observation by passersby. In most cases,the boundaries of the curtilage will be clearly marked by fences. For example, a short picket fence around the back yard may clearly mark the curtilage. Yards,barns,gardens and sheds are commonly deemed within the curtilage. However,in some cases,the determination of the boundaries of the curtilage will be difficult. The recent case of Frenz v. City of Portland illustrates the application of the concept of curtilage by a federal district court in Oregon. In Frenz the court found that a Portland inspector's search violated the federal constitution. The property in question was neighborhood home. Its front yard was not fenced, and its back yard was fenced on two sides with low wire fences, and the other with a five-foot wooden fence. The Frenzes stored an old refrigerator,a couch and paint cans in that yard. When the city's Bureau of Buildings received a complaint about the property,a city inspector inspected the property for violations of the city code. He walked into the back yard where Frenz discovered him about 10 feet from the back porch. The inspector posted a notice indicating items that need to be cleaned up or removed within 15 days. After that time,the inspector posted a Notice of Work order, and mailed a copy to Frenz. Two weeks later, the inspector returned with a work crew. Without permission,the crew entered the property and removed several items from plaintiff's property. The court examined each of the four factors, and found that the first three weighed in favor of the yards being within the curtilage. Although the entire area which was searched was visible from either public rights-of-way or bordering property, the court found them to be within the. curtilage. Like a dwelling,curtilage is protected from trespass unless residents have impliedly or expressly consented to it. Because the inspector and the crew entered the curtilage without permission or a warrant, they conducted an illegal search in violation of the Fourth Amendment. Ultimately, the court awarded $12,500 to the Frenzes. Of that amount, $10,000 represented the value of property which was removed. An area outside the curtilage may still be constitutionally-protected if the property holder indicates his expectation of privacy by erecting fences or signs. For example,an Oregon court found