[1][2] This case answered in the affirmative a variation of the question the Court left open in United States v. Knights, 534 U.S. 112, 120 n.6 (2001), "whether a condition of release can so diminish or eliminate a released prisoner's reasonable expectation of privacy that a suspicionless search by a law enforcement officer would not offend the Fourth Amendment."

In the afternoon of September 6, 2002, San Bruno Police Officer Alex Rohleder observed "two adults and a little baby walking down the street."

One of the adults, whom Rohleder recognized "from a prior contact" was the defendant in the case, Donald Curtis Samson.

Rohleder found a cigarette box in Samson's left breast pocket that held a plastic baggie containing methamphetamine.

Samson appealed his conviction on the grounds the trial court improperly admitted the evidence from the search.