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CA9: Armed standoff is continuing arrest for Fourth Amendment purposes

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

In Fisher v. City of San Jose, 04-16095 (9th Cir. March 11, 2009) (en banc), the Ninth Circuit held that a twelve hour armed standoff that started with an exigency continued with one, and the police were not required to assess the situation minute-by-minute to determine that they needed an arrest warrant: According to Fisher, the only reasonable conclusion supported by the evidence is that the exigency that existed before 6:30 a.m. dissipated after that time, thus rendering his continued seizure and the completion of his arrest unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment. Implicit in Fisher’s argument is the following premise: in an armed standoff, once a suspect is seized by virtue of being surrounded and ordered to surrender, the passage of time may operate to liberate that suspect, re-kindle the arrest warrant requirement, and require police to assess with each passing minute whether the circumstances remain exigent...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on March 12, 2009 (boomark / email).