Open-fields doctrine

For other uses, see Open-field (disambiguation).
Rolling countryside with fields, some cultivated, others not. There is a small house at the left center.
Open fields near Lisbon, Ohio.

The open-fields doctrine (also open-field doctrine or open-fields rule), in the U.S. law of criminal procedure, is the legal doctrine that a "warrantless search of the area outside a property owner's curtilage" does not violate the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. However, "unless there is some other legal basis for the search," such a search "must exclude the home and any adjoining land (such as a yard) that is within an enclosure or otherwise protected from public scrutiny."[1]

  1. ^ Black's Law Dictionary (9th ed. 2009), open-fields doctrine