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IN: Battery without a weapon was not an exigent circumstance justifying entry into defendant's home

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Battery by punching is not the type of exigent circumstance that justifies a warrantless entry into defendant’s house. There was no weapon involved. People v. Davis, 2010 Ill. App. LEXIS 148 (February 24, 2010)*: The offense for which Willer sought to arrest defendant--the battery of Harrison--certainly involved a form of violence in that defendant allegedly punched Harrison. Nothing in the record indicates, however, that this offense was particularly grave; there was no evidence that as a result of the alleged battery Harrison suffered any sort of injury, sought medical treatment, or was in any way hindered in performing her normal activities. In addition, the police had no reason to believe that defendant was armed or otherwise posed a threat to the police or others; no evidence was presented that the police suspected defendant was armed, that a weapon was involved in the battery of Harrison, or that the police knew whether defendant had a particularly violent history...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on March 05, 2010 (boomark / email).