SUPREME COURT VICTORY FOR PRIVACY:  In all the hullabaloo over the Court’s oral arguments in same-sex marriage cases this week, one interesting opinion issued on Tuesday has been largely overlooked:  Florida v. Jardines.

In a close 5-4 decision, the Court concluded that using a trained dog to sniff for drugs on the porch of a home violated the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition against unreasonable searches.  Because the porch of a home is within its “curtilage”–lawyer-speak for the land and buildings immediately surrounding a home–officers needed to obtain a warrant or the owner’s consent prior to bringing the detection dog within this important private realm.

Related:  Steve Chapman at the Washington Examiner criticizes the narrowness of the Court’s opinion, asserting, “Plenty of urban residences are within a few feet of a sidewalk, making them vulnerable to an accusatory Labrador retriever.”  Such public sidewalks next to “urban residences” would not be within the curtilage and hence, presumably wouldn’t qualify for the special treatment afforded in Jardines.