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CA8: Second entry was not within defendant's consent to look for a suspect

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Defendant consented to the first entry to the USM to look for another, and that man was arrested in the backyard, and the officer took him handcuffed back into the house. The second entry was not within the original consent. United States v. McMullin, 2009 U.S. App. LEXIS 18357 (8th Cir. August 17, 2009): The precise issue here is not withdrawal of consent, but whether, as McMullin argues, a new consent was required for the second entry. By the time Marshal Newlin sought re-entry into McMullin's house, it is undisputed that the marshals had already completed their task of arresting Crowder in the backyard. There was no necessity or legal basis for the officer to re-enter the house. Under the circumstances of this case, we determine that Marshal Newlin's re-entry exceeded the scope of McMullin's consent and therefore violated the Fourth Amendment prohibition against unreasonable entries into a person's house...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on August 19, 2009 (boomark / email).