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"Exigent circumstances supporting a warrantless arrest should seldom be found"

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Defendant officers failed in their burden of showing that there were exigent circumstances for a warrantless entry into the plaintiff's home. Kolesnikov v. Sacramento County, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 33155 (E.D. Cal. April 21, 2008): Exigent circumstances supporting a warrantless arrest should seldom be found. LaLonde, 204 F.3d at 956 ("Supreme Court and Ninth Circuit cases have strictly limited the exigency exception, especially in the context of warrantless arrests in the home."). Such circumstances are narrowly construed and limited to emergency situations demanding an immediate response to prevent serious injury to the arresting officers or other persons. Id. "The exigency exception can excuse a warrant for an in-home arrest when probable cause exists and there is a compelling reason for not obtaining a warrant-for example, a need to protect an officer or the public from danger, [a] need to avoid the imminent destruction of evidence, when entry in hot pursuit is necessary to prevent a criminal suspect's escape, [or a need] to respond to fires or other emergencies...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on April 25, 2008 (boomark / email).