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CA8: Squatters in a condemned building ordered out had no Fourth Amendment claim

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Persons residing in a condemned building rousted by the police have no Fourth Amendment complaint against the police who ordered them out, they refused to leave, and were then arrested. Trinity v. Mokwa, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 23591 (8th Cir. November 14, 2008): A person who is "wrongfully on the premises" may not object to the legality of a search. Rakas v. Illinois, 439 U.S. 128, 141 & n.9 (1978). Likewise, a person who the police find to be unlawfully occupying a building condemned for occupancy, and who refuses their command to vacate the premises, may not object to the legality of their entry and removal by arrest. Tenant was already facing eviction proceedings before he committed a murder, and, after the arrest, the landlord removed everything from the premises...continue to full post

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