In the 1979 case of Lewis v. United States, the U.S Supreme Court ruled that a warrantless search and seizure on private property was constitutional if it involved an automobile. The court held that when police have probable cause to believe there is contraband inside an automobile in plain view on private property or in a location not regularly used for residential purposes (such as driveways), they may seize it without violating the Fourth Amendment. In this case, Albert Lewis had been convicted of possessing a stolen vehicle after police officers entered his driveway without a warrant and confirmed that his car was stolen by checking its Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). The court upheld his conviction with Justice Byron White writing for majority opinion stating "the intrusion upon privacy that results from seizing an item visible from public areas is generally 'considerably less than that associated with entry into the home itself.'"

In the dissenting opinion for Lewis v. United States, Justice Marshall argued that the majority's decision to allow warrantless searches of homes by federal parole officers was a dangerous erosion of Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure. He contended that such an intrusion into personal privacy should only be permitted under exceptional circumstances, which were not present in this case. Furthermore, he disagreed with the majority's view that parolees have a reduced expectation of privacy due to their status as convicted criminals on conditional release; rather, he believed they retain fundamental rights unless explicitly waived or limited by law. Finally, Justice Marshall criticized the majority for failing to provide clear guidelines about when and how these warrantless searches could occur - potentially leading to arbitrary and abusive practices.