Main Content

Issues In Colorado Search And Seizure Law For Police Officers - Part One

People V. Gomez Analysis

People v. Gomez (1981) Case Study

Concise Overview

People v. Gomez addresses critical Fourth Amendment questions regarding visual observations through motel curtains, warrantless entry based on exigent circumstances, and seizure of evidence in plain view. The Colorado Supreme Court held that an officer's observation through a gap in motel curtains from a public walkway did not constitute a search, and that exigent circumstances justified the subsequent warrantless entry when the officer observed drug activity and the suspect was likely to destroy evidence.