Sixth Circuit Upholds OLC's Prior Win Against Warrantless Government Search in Northern Michigan Property Rights Case

For Immediate Release | August 12, 2025
https://olcplc.com/public/media?1754989947

In a significant win for private property rights, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has affirmed a lower court ruling holding three local officials personally liable for violating the Fourth Amendment when they conducted a warrantless inspection of Michael and Susan Mockeridge’s secluded 40-acre retreat in Alcona County, Michigan. This decision follows the prior win the Mockeridges secured from a federal trial court in fall of 2023.

The case is fully documented in a video previously released by OLC:


The unanimous published opinion, issued August 11, 2025, affirmed the rejection of claims of qualified immunity by Alcona County building inspector Harry Harvey, health department official David Schmidt, and Caledonia Township zoning administrator Kenneth Gibson. The Court concluded the officials trespassed onto the Mockeridges’ property, entered the protected area around several privately owned “mini-cabins,” and conducted a search without a warrant, consent, or legal justification.

“This ruling reinforces that government officials are not above the Fourth Amendment,” said attorney Philip L. Ellison of Outside Legal Counsel PLC, who represented the Mockeridges. “The Fourth Amendment’s protections extend to every home – whether it’s a city house, a farmstead, or small family cabins in the woods – and this decision makes clear those rights cannot be brushed aside for convenience.”

The Court’s detailed opinion emphasized:
  • The mini-cabins, though small, are legally considered “houses” entitled to full Fourth Amendment protection.
  • The surrounding area – the “curtilage” – is part of that protection, and trespassing there to gather information is a search.
  • The officials’ conduct was unreasonable because it bypassed the judicial warrant process without any applicable exception.
  • The constitutional prohibition against warrantless code-enforcement searches has been clearly established for years, leaving no legal shield for the defendants.
The case originated after neighbors generated false complaints about the Mockeridges’ family cabins. The three officials illegally entered through an adjacent private lot, walked directly up to the mini-cabins, peered inside, took measurements, and documented the property – all without the Mockeridges’ knowledge or permission.

The Court decision also noted that several attempts to minimize what happened were "belie[d]" by the evidence, including the 'smoking gun' photograph. "Rather than proceed up the Mockeridges’ driveway to the original cabin, they entered the property through the woods from the adjacent private lot, foregoing any recognizable or acceptable path to the cabins," states the opinion. Without permission or a warrant, officials from three local governments "unreasonably searched the Mockeridges' property in violation of the Mockeridges’ Fourth Amendment rights."

“This case sends an unmistakable message to local governments across Michigan,” Ellison added. “The rule of law applies to everyone, and property lines still mean something.”

With the Sixth Circuit’s decision, the case now proceeds toward a trial on damages in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

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