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Backyard of mobile home with a gravel driveway that ended at front yard and brush all around that blocked view from road was curtilage. Going to the backyard by following the garden hose violated the curtilage for a knock-and-talk. State v. Draper, 2012 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 346 (May 24, 2012)*:

The "knock and talk" procedure does not justify Deputy Hamby's incursion into the curtilage of the Defendants' home. Deputy Hamby was very clear in his testimony at the suppression hearing that he did not approach the Defendants' front door and made no attempt to contact them at the front door. Deputy Hamby could not recall if any of the water company employees attempted to contact the Defendants at their front door. Deputy Hamby also could not recall whether there were any other cars in the driveway when he arrived. Deputy Hamby testified that he bypassed the front door and simply followed the water hose into the Defendants' backyard. As such, Deputy Hamby left the area where the public was impliedly invited, exceeded the scope of the implied invitation, and intruded upon a constitutionally protected area. Furthermore, Deputy Hamby was aware that the Defendants had posted "no trespassing" signs on their property, effectively revoking the implied invitation of the front door. Accordingly, we conclude that Deputy Hamby made no attempt to institute a "knock and talk" procedure and that the procedure provides no justification for his warrantless entry into the Defendants' backyard.

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