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Issues In Colorado Search And Seizure Law For Police Officers - Part One
Resource 6 . 2
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United States V Watkins Analysis

Mark Beluscak, MCJ FBINA 209

United States v. Watkins (10th Cir. 2025) Case Study

Concise Overview

United States v. Watkins addresses whether a police officer's observation through a gap in motel room curtains from a public walkway constitutes a Fourth Amendment search. The Tenth Circuit held that observations made from a public area using unaided senses do not violate a reasonable expectation of privacy, even when viewing the interior of a motel room through a curtain gap.

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