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Supreme Court Nullifies Fourth Amendment - home searches without warrant OKed
(David G. Savage, L.A. Times, May 22, 2006)
Police officers may go into a home uninvited and without a search warrant in order to break up a fight they have seen through a kitchen window, the Supreme Court ruled today. . . . Usually, homes are off limits to the police and government searches, except when officers have obtained a warrant from a judge. In the past, however, the court has said there is an exception for emergencies, such as a fire at a residence. . . . he unanimous decision overturned rulings by the Utah state courts, which held that a loud party and a drunken fight did not give the police reason enough to burst into a home without a warrant. Its judges said the officers appeared more interested in breaking up the loud party than in aiding a seriously injured person. . . . But Roberts said the officers' true motives did not matter. . . . When the Utah courts suppressed the evidence against the adults, state prosecutors urged the court to hear the case to clarify what is an emergency exception to the 4th Amendment. . . . In Brigham City vs. Stuart, Roberts said the officers did not need a warrant because they were breaking up a fight, not searching the premises. . . . Moreover, they did not need to knock on the door before entering because they would not have been heard. "It would serve no purpose to require them to stand dumbly at the door awaiting a response while those within brawled on, oblivious to their presence," he wrote.

posted by LoZo 3:08 PM