Case v. Montana Attempts to Clarify the Emergency Aid Exception to the Warrant Requirement

When can law enforcement officers enter a person’s home, without a warrant, in order to provide emergency assistance? How sure must the officers be that assistance is needed before an emergency entry is allowed? These are the questions at the heart of Case v. Montana, 607 U.S. __ (2026), an opinion issued by the Supreme Court last month. Fourth Amendment basics. The Fourth Amendment provides in part that “[t]he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated.” U.S. Const. Am. IV. Case law establishes that an entry into a person’s home by law enforcement is reasonable, and therefore consistent with the Fourth Amendment, only when supported by a warrant or an exception to the warrant requirement. See, e.g., Lange v. California, 594 U.S. 295 (2021) (stating that the law “generally” requires a warrant “before a law enforcement officer can enter a home without permission,” subject to “certain exceptions”). Brigham City v. Stuart, 547 U.S. 398 (2006). One of the exceptions to the warrant requirement is the emergency aid exception, sometimes also called the emergency assistance exception or simply the emergency doctrine. That exception was first clearly articulated in Brigham City, a case that began when officers responded to a noise complaint. Arriving at the residence in question, they saw through a window an altercation between several adults and a juvenile. The juvenile punched one of the adults in the face, causing the adult to spit blood. [...]