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Warrantless Search – Emergency Aid Exception

By: Derek Hawkins//January 26, 2022//

Warrantless Search – Emergency Aid Exception

By: Derek Hawkins//January 26, 2022//

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WI Court of Appeals – District IV

Case Name: State of Wisconsin v. LaVerne Ware, Jr.,

Case No.: 2020AP1559-CR

Officials: Fitzpatrick, Graham, and Nashold, JJ.

Focus: Warrantless Search – Emergency Aid Exception

Laverne Ware appeals a judgment of the Dodge County Circuit Court convicting him of first-degree intentional homicide, hiding a corpse with intent to conceal a crime, incest, and possession of a firearm as a felon. Ware was arrested at his residence after law enforcement officers responded to a 911 call from another resident of the home who reported seeing a large amount of blood in the garage. After Ware was taken into custody, one of the officers searched the garage at the residence and discovered a body. In the circuit court, Ware moved to suppress evidence stemming from the search of the garage on the ground that the evidence was the product of an unconstitutional warrantless search. The court denied Ware’s motion concluding that the search was justified under the community caretaker exception to the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement. This matter went to trial, and a jury found Ware guilty on all counts.

Ware appeals the circuit court’s ruling regarding the search. We affirm, but for a reason different than that given by the circuit court. After the circuit court’s ruling, the United States Supreme Court held that the community caretaker exception does not authorize the warrantless search of a residence. Caniglia v. Strom, 141 S. Ct. 1596, 1600 (2021). Nonetheless, we conclude that the circuit court properly denied Ware’s motion to suppress because the search was justified under the emergency aid exception to the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement.

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Derek A Hawkins is Corporate Counsel, at Salesforce.

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