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Unkempt yard in a high crime area is not exigent circumstance

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Unkempt yard in high crime area is not an exigent circumstance for a warrantless entry. United States v. Vurgess, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 74332 (S.D. Ga. September 26, 2008): The Government also argues that the warrantless entry was justified by the exigency of the circumstances. In support of its argument, the Government cites the condition and appearance of the property, and its location in a high crime neighborhood, as creating a sufficient danger to the community to justify a warrantless entry in the home. This argument fails for two reasons. First, the Fourth Amendment would be rendered a virtual nullity if government agents could perform warrantless searches based merely on the location of a home and its unkempt appearance. Assuming that the property was in a state of disrepair and located in a high crime neighborhood, the government has failed to show that this created any specific emergency that would justify abandoning the warrant requirement...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on September 30, 2008 (boomark / email).