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Arrest warrant permits entry only if there is reasonable cause to believe defendant is home; here, TV and lights were on at 5:45 a.m.

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

An arrest warrant for a defendant only permits an entry into his house when officers have reason to believe that he is home. Here, it was reasonable to conclude that the defendant was home, even though, as it turned out, he wasn't. United States v. Brown, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3228 (E.D. Pa. January 16, 2008): An arrest warrant allows a police officer to enter a domicile in which a suspect lives, but only when there is reason to believe that the suspect is inside. Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573, 603 (1980). The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has held that the police are only allowed to enter a suspect's home to make an arrest when they have probable cause to believe that the suspect is inside. United States v. Veal, 453 F.3d 164, 167-68 (3d Cir...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on January 20, 2008 (boomark / email).