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Knock and Announce: Is Five Seconds Long Enough?

How long must a police officer wait before forcefully entering under a knock and announce warrant?  In United States v. Granville, 222 F.3d 1214 (9th Cir. 2000), the Ninth Circuit held that waiting just five seconds before breaking down the door was unreasonable.  Today in Howell v. Polk, No. 06-16418 (9th Cir., July 16, 2008) (opinion), the Ninth Circuit held that a five second delay was long enough when: "Plaintiffs lived in a small house, with a large picture window and a difficult-to-breach security door."  While Fourth Amendment cases are decided under the totality of the circumstances, and thus, time is but one factor; five seconds sure doesn't seem like much time.  One could argue that Howell was an appeal from a jury's verdict...continue to full post

Full post as published by Crime & Federalism on July 16, 2008 (boomark / email).