Stephen Raymond Saal v. Commonwealth of Virginia, 848 S.E.2d 612

After midnight an off-duty officer saw a vehicle drive erratically and called dispatch (report placed at 12:15 a.m.).
On-duty Officer Loveless traced the plate to Saal’s address and, at about 12:30 a.m., went to the residence with another officer.
From the street the officers confirmed the parked Lexus in the driveway was damaged and had a flat tire; they approached via the driveway and walked normal paths to the front door.
No answer at the front door; Loveless observed a lighted side door/path, approached and knocked there; Saal opened, admitted he had driven the vehicle, exited voluntarily, and was arrested for DUI (and later charged with breath-test refusal).
Saal moved to suppress his statements and other evidence, arguing the nighttime knock-and-talk onto curtilage without a warrant violated the Fourth Amendment; the trial court denied the motion and Saal entered a conditional guilty plea to preserve appeal.
The Court of Appeals affirmed, ruling the officer’s approach was reasonable under the totality of the circumstances (implicit license, minimal intrusion, lights on, recent arrival, approach via normal paths) and declined to adopt any bright-line ban on nighttime knock-and-talks.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether a warrantless nighttime entry onto curtilage to conduct a knock-and-talk violated the Fourth Amendment	Saal: implied license to approach ends at late-night hours; a 12:30 a.m. knock required a warrant	Commonwealth/Loveless: implied license permits lawful approach absent rescission; reasonableness judged by totality (driveway approach, lights on, recent arrival)	Affirmed: knock-and-talk was reasonable under the totality of facts; no per se prohibition on nighttime approaches

Florida v. Jardines, 569 U.S. 1 (2013) (front porch is curtilage; implied license to approach and knock)
Collins v. Virginia, 138 S. Ct. 1663 (2018) (entry onto curtilage is presumptively unreasonable absent warrant, subject to exceptions)
Oliver v. United States, 466 U.S. 170 (1984) (curtilage is part of the home for Fourth Amendment purposes)
Robinson v. Commonwealth, 47 Va. App. 533 (2006) (factors for evaluating nighttime knock-and-talks: time, openness, paths used, lights, vehicles)
Kentucky v. King, 563 U.S. 452 (2011) (exceptions permitting warrantless entry in certain exigent circumstances)
Brigham City v. Stuart, 547 U.S. 398 (2006) (warrantless entry permitted to render emergency aid or prevent imminent injury)
United States v. Santana, 427 U.S. 38 (1976) (officers may enter curtilage or home in hot pursuit)
Bell v. Wolfish, 441 U.S. 520 (1979) (reasonableness under the Fourth Amendment requires balancing scope, manner, justification, and place)