Drendolyn Sims v. Mike Stanton, 706 F.3d 954

Officers Stanton and partner responded to an unknown disturbance in La Mesa around 1:00 a.m.; Patrick fled toward Sims’s home after being ordered to stop, while no weapon was observed on Patrick.
Patrick entered Sims’s front yard through a gate; Stanton kicked the six-foot wooden gate, injuring Sims who stood behind it.
Sims alleged Fourth Amendment violations under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 for warrantless entry into the curtilage and related injuries; district court granted Stanton summary judgment on some claims and qualified immunity.
The district court treated Sims’s yard as curtilage but allowed a lesser privacy analysis; this court held curtilage is protected like the home and warrantless entry presumptively unconstitutional.
The court rejected exigency and emergency exceptions based on a misdemeanor, held the law was clearly established that warrantless entry into curtilage for a misdemeanant is unlawful, and reversed the district court’s grant of summary judgment on the unconstitutional search claim.
Remand for proceedings consistent with the reversal on the constitutional search claim and qualified immunity analysis.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Is Sims’s front yard curtilage protected by the Fourth Amendment?	Sims argues front yard is curtilage and protected.	Stanton argues reduced privacy suffices for curtilage.	Yes; yard is curtilage and warrants protection mirrors the home.
Do exigency or emergency exceptions justify the warrantless entry given a misdemeanant?	Exigency/emergency cannot justify entry for misdemeanor.	Exigency or emergency could apply to prevent escape/danger.	No; misdemeanor pursuit does not justify warrantless entry; exceptions did not apply.
Was Stanton entitled to qualified immunity on the warrantless entry?	Law was clearly established; entry violated rights.	No clearly established law forewarned; exigency justified.	No; the law was clearly established that curtilage warrants protection and misdemeanor pursuit rarely justifies entry.

Oliver v. United States, 466 U.S. 170 (1984) (front yard curtilage protected as part of the home)
United States v. Dunn, 480 U.S. 294 (1987) (factors for curtilage analysis; not dispositive when clearly curtilage exists)
United States v. Perea-Rey, 680 F.3d 1179 (9th Cir. 2012) (curtilage enjoys Fourth Amendment protections like the home)
Struckman v. United States, 603 F.3d 731 (9th Cir. 2010) (curtilage protected; warrantless entry presumptively unconstitutional)
Welsh v. Wisconsin, 466 U.S. 742 (1984) (exigency for misdemeanors is rare; must be narrowly tailored)