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NM: Nighttime search rule is really important, but it didn't apply where the house was cleared and warrant arrived at night

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Nighttime searches are dangerous and must be limited. However, in this case, the police emptied the house while they waited for a search warrant which arrived at night, so the prohibition on nighttime searches should not apply. State v. Santiago, 2010 NMSC 18, 2010 N.M. LEXIS 134 (April 1, 2010): [*11] As a general proposition, a nighttime search implicates special concerns of privacy and safety--especially when the search is of a home. See Monroe v. Pape, 365 U.S. 167, 210 (1961) (“Searches of the dwelling house were the special object of this universal condemnation of official intrusion. Night-time search was the evil in its most obnoxious form.” (footnote omitted)), overruled on other grounds by Monell v. Dep’t of Soc...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on May 06, 2010 (boomark / email).