A few weeks ago the United States Supreme Court decided Lange v. California, 594 U.S. ___, ___ S. Ct. ___ (June 23, 2021), holding that the flight of a person suspected of a misdemeanor offense does not categorically justify an officer’s warrantless entry into a home. Today’s post reviews how Lange fits into the landscape of Fourth Amendment cases establishing when an officer may forcibly enter a suspect’s home without a warrant. Let’s start with what we knew before Lange was decided. Warrantless felony arrests in the home are not permissible absent exigent circumstances. The United States Supreme Court held in Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573 (1980), that warrantless felony arrests in the home are prohibited by the Fourth Amendment absent exigent circumstances. The court struck down as unconstitutional New York statutes that authorized law enforcement officers to enter a private residence without a warrant and with force to make a routine felony arrest. Hot pursuit of a fleeing felon is an exigency that permits warrantless entry into a home. In United States v. Santana, 427 U.S. 38 (1976), the Supreme Court determined that law enforcement officers who had probable cause to arrest the defendant for selling heroin were authorized to enter the vestibule of the defendant’s home to arrest her after she retreated from the area in front of her door as officers approached. The officer’s warrantless entry was authorized by the categorical exception for hot pursuit. Even though there was not an extended “hue and cry ‘in [...]
Faculty Coordinators
