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CA7: 911 hangup and no answer on call back is probable cause

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

A 911 hangup and no answer on call back is probable cause. Hanson v. Dane County, 2010 U.S. App. LEXIS 12163 (7th Cir. June 15, 2010): [A] 911 call provides probable cause for entry, if a call back goes unanswered. The 911 line is supposed to be used for emergencies only. A lack of an answer on the return of an incomplete emergency call implies that the caller is unable to pick up the phone—because of injury, illness (a heart attack, for example), or a threat of violence. See United States v. Jenkins, 329 F.3d 579, 581 (7th Cir. 2003); United States v. Richardson, 208 F.3d 626, 629–30 (7th Cir. 2000). Any of these three possibilities supplies both probable cause and an exigent circumstance that dispenses with the need for a warrant...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on June 17, 2010 (boomark / email).