High Court Curtails Police Power to Enter Homes Without Warrants

The decision requires police to get a warrant to enter the home of a suspected misdemeanant if time permits, but certain circumstances allow police to enter warrantless.

Jun 26, 2021 - 07:00

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The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that officers pursuing someone suspected of a misdemeanor cannot always enter a home without a warrant if a suspect enters. Although the decision technically limits police power, it doesn’t give police a “bright line” for when they can enter a home to pursue a suspected misdemeanant, the Associated Press reports. In a majority opinion for seven justices, Justice Elena Kagan wrote that officers must get a warrant if time permits, but in an effort to prevent “imminent harms of violence, destruction of evidence, or escape from the home” officers can enter a home without a warrant. The ruling — that police cannot enter a person’s home when pursuing them for a minor crime, except in certain circumstances — was criticized by some conservative justices, Courthouse News Service reported. Chief Justice John Roberts said “hot pursuit” itself — police pursuit of a fleeing suspect — disqualifies the need for a warrant.

Over the past year, many people have denounced warrants, saying that they give dangerous and unconstrained power to police. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear signed a bill limiting the use of no-knock warrants in April after police killed Breonna Taylor during a botched police raid on her home in March 2020. Responding to the Supreme Court ruling, Elizabeth Wydra, president of the liberal Constitutional Accountability Center, said it’s unclear how the decision will “play out in the real world.”