The officers left their vehicle and walked along a footpath around the gate onto defendant's property and continued down the road for nearly a mile.

After appeals, the Supreme Court affirmed the open fields rule derived from Hester v. United States (1924), and decided that the officers' actions did not constitute a "search" under the Fourth Amendment.

The Court held: [A]n individual may not legitimately demand privacy for activities conducted out of doors in fields, except in the area immediately surrounding the home...The [Fourth] Amendment reflects the recognition of the Framers that certain enclaves should be free from arbitrary government interference.

For example, the Court since the enactment of the Fourth Amendment has stressed ‘the overriding respect for the sanctity of the home that has been embedded in our traditions since the origins of the Republic.’ Id at 178.

Because of these considerations, the Court declined to accept the defendants' expectation of privacy as one that "society recognizes as reasonable."