The U.S. Constitution famously protects against unreasonable search and seizure, but the Washington State Constitution is far more narrow, requiring a warrant in all but a handful of exceptions to conduct any search, reasonable or not. For that reason, the state Supreme Court threw out Jason Eisfeldt’s conviction for operating a marijuana-growing operation at a house in Lacey.

In August 2003, Eisfeldt called in a repairman to fix a diesel spill on his living-room floor. Michael Piper arrived, and in the process of cleaning up, went into the attached garage to open the door and vent the fumes. The garage had a foam sealant around it, which Piper broke. Once inside, he found a garbage bag filled with pot. Piper then called the cops, let them into the house, and showed them the bag. The officers then obtained a warrant, allowing them to search the rest of the house, where they unearthed a home-grow operation and subsequently arrested Eisfeldt.

In the Supreme Court decision, the nine justices agreed that the cops never should have been allowed in the house in the first place. In the majority opinion, Justice Richard Sanders points out that even if the initial search was reasonable, the cops’ failure to seek a warrant before going into the garage was a violation of the state constitution.

Additionally, the search of an Olympia home based on a warrant obtained from the search of Eisfeldt’s home was ruled unconstitutional due to the “poison tree” doctrine. Because the first search was illegal, any search warrants obtained from the first search are also unlawful.