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NM: 10-12 second wait for entry after knock-and-announce at 10 pm on a house was unreasonable

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

State knock and announce rule was violated where officers knocked for 10-12 seconds on the door of a house at 10 p.m. The house was large enough that nobody inside could get to the door in 10-12 seconds, and the officers never considered the size of the house; they just followed their customary practice. Motion to suppress granted because the failure to consider how long it would take an occupant to get to the door at night was a violation of the state constitution. State v. Ulibarri, 2010 N.M. App. LEXIS 74 (July 8, 2010): P18 In our view, the present case is distinguishable from Hand and Johnson. Here the warrant was executed at roughly 10:00 p.m. The Home is not small like a motel room or a trailer; it is a house with two entrances and separate rooms...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on July 19, 2010 (boomark / email).