4th Amendment Warrantless Entry Exigent Circumstance.

Byline: Derek Hawkins

United States Supreme Court

Case Name: Arthur Gregory Lange v. California

Case No.: 20-18

Focus: 4th 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 alwaysor more legally put, categoricallyqualifies 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...