Assignment task:
Devon is a proud southerner. He personifies his state pride by proudly flying his state flag off his front porch. Devon agrees with being a law-abiding citizen. One of the many things he loves about living in the south is the strict laws and how harsh they are on criminals, unlike the states on the "coasts." However, Devon also likes to grow, roll, and smoke his own marijuana, which is illegal in his state, but he figures no state is perfect.
Devon has quite the growing operation in his backyard. He has a 10-foot vinyl fence surrounding and enclosing his entire backyard. He grows his marijuana just off of his back deck, where he frequently drinks, smokes, barbeques, and hangs out with his friends. Unfortunately for Devon, a neighbor has called and tipped off the police about his growing operation. The police do not have enough probable cause to get a warrant to seize the plants, so they investigate the alleged growing operation. The police respond to Devon's house but can't see in the backyard.
Please read the following examples and indicate whether or not a Fourth Amendment "search" has occurred. Do NOT tell me if the search was legal or illegal. Additionally, please make sure you justify your responses and tell why you think a search according to the Fourth Amendment either has or has not occurred:
A) An officer climbs a nearby telephone pole on the street with preinstalled pole steps used by maintenance workers, looks into Devon's backyard, and sees the plants.
B) The police notice a large gap under the fence, where it looks like a dog has dug a hole for access. The police crawl under the fence, go into Devon's backyard and see the plants.
C) The police contact the neighbor who called the police about the plants. The neighbor lives a few houses away and says you can see the marijuana plants from her third-story deck. She invites the officers in, and they go out on her balcony and see the plants in Devon's backyard using binoculars.
D) Assume now that Devon's marijuana plants are located 75 feet from his home inside a wooden shed. A police officer enters the property and looks into the shed through an open window, and observes the plants.
E) An officer with an old pair of Airpods throws both Airpods over the fence and near Devon's back porch. He sits in his patrol car across the street and uses the function on his iPhone to listen to conversations Devon has on his back porch.
F) Now assume the police have gathered enough evidence and obtained a valid search warrant in order to search Devon's home, vehicles, sheds, and yard. The police knock on Devon's door at noon, and Devon answers, and the police execute the search warrant. While inside, the police locate marijuana, drug paraphernalia, as well as Devon's drugs in his backyard.
The question is whether or not a Fourth Amendment "search" has taken place.
I'm not asking about whether or not the "search" was "legal" or "illegal." What I'm asking is
Has a Fourth Amendment search taken place that would trigger a person's Fourth Amendment protections? In other words, this is a threshold question.