Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Criminal Law Blogs -> Fourth Amendment

Criminal Law

: Fourth Amendment

FL5: Officer entering home returning child left at day care not reasonable, no matter how well intentioned

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

After a six year old child was not picked up at day care and the parents did not respond to telephone calls, a deputy picked up the child and drove him home. The child let himself in and nobody responded to shouts. The master bedroom door was locked, but easily unlocked, and the deputy went in figuring foul play. Inside, there was no one, but cocaine was seen. The defendant child's father showed up and was arrested for the cocaine. The entry, no matter how well intentioned was not justified by exigent circumstances. Ortiz v. State, 2009 Fla. App. LEXIS 3460 (Fla. App. 5DCA April 24, 2009): The State maintains, and the dissent agrees, that Fourth Amendment jurisprudence, and Riggs [Riggs v. State, 918 So. 2d 274 (Fla. 2005)], in particular, support the trial court's conclusion that the deputy acted reasonably in entering Ortiz's home without a warrant...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on April 28, 2009 (boomark / email).