4th Amendment – Warrantless Entry – Exigent Circumstance

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United States Supreme Court

Case Name: Arthur Gregory Lange v. California

Case No.: 20-18

Focus: 4^th Amendment – Warrantless Entry – Exigent Circumstance  

The Fourth Amendment ordinarily requires that police officers get a warrant before entering a home without permission. But an officer may make a warrantless entry when “the exigencies of the situation” create a compelling law enforcement need. Kentucky v. King, 563 U. S. 452, 460 (2011). The question presented here is whether the pursuit of a fleeing misdemeanor suspect always—or more legally put, categorically—qualifies as an exigent circumstance. We hold it does not. A great many misdemeanor pursuits involve exigencies allowing warrantless entry. But whether a given one does so turns on the particular facts of the case.

Vacated and remanded

Dissenting:

Concurring: KAVANAUGH, J., filed a concurring opinion. THOMAS, J., filed an opinion concurring in part and concurring in the judgment, in which KAVANAUGH, J., joined as to Part II. ROBERTS, C. J., filed an opinion concurring in the judgment, in which ALITO, J., joined.

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Derek A Hawkins is Corporate Counsel, at Salesforce.