U.S. Supreme Court Clarifies Warrantless Entry Rules for Fleeing Misdemeanants (2021) PDF

Legal Bulletin Los Angeles Police Department Risk Management Legal Affairs Division July 7, 2021 U.S. Supreme Court Clarifies Legal Rules Regarding Warrantless Entry into the Home of a Fleeing Misdemeanant SUBJECT: LANGE v. CALIFORNIA, 141 S. Ct. 2011 No. 2-18; Argued February 24, 2021, Decided Jun...

Legal Bulletin Los Angeles Police Department Risk Management Legal Affairs Division July 7, 2021 U.S. Supreme Court Clarifies Legal Rules Regarding Warrantless Entry into the Home of a Fleeing Misdemeanant SUBJECT: LANGE v. CALIFORNIA, 141 S. Ct. 2011 No. 2-18; Argued February 24, 2021, Decided June 23, 2021 SUMMARY: On June 23, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Lange v. California, in which it (i) clarified the types of circumstances in which police officers can enter the home of a fleeing misdemeanor suspect without a warrant, and (ii) rejected a rule that would have permitted warrantless entries based solely on the fact of a misdemeanant’s flight from police. While the Supreme Court has historically allowed warrantless entries when police are in “hot pursuit” of a suspected felon, the decision in Lange held that the rule should not be extended categorically to the misdemeanor context. Under the Court’s decision, police officers across the country must either obtain a warrant or identify a case-specific emergency to pursue a misdemeanor suspect into their home. In its brief to the Supreme Court, both the Petitioner and the California Department of Justice argued against categorically applying a “hot pursuit” exception to the warrant requirement in the misdemeanor context, noting that it would be contrary to the historical evidence regarding the original meaning of the Fourth Amendment. California also argued that the Supreme Court had never extended its felony “hot pursuit” exception to misdemeanors, and that adopting a nationwide “hot pursuit” exception in all misdemeanor cases could materially increase intrusions on legitimate privacy interests.1” WHAT THIS MEAN TO LAW ENFORCEMENT: Police officers are reminded that the mere pursuit of a fleeing misdemeanor suspect – without more – does not categorically qualify as an exigent circumstance justifying a warrantless entry into a home. In other words, the fact of flight by itself is not enough to justify a warrantless entry in the misdemeanor context. Rather, a misdemeanant’s flight from police is just one of a “totality of circumstances” that must be considered to justify a warrantless entry into the home. Thus, when the totality of the circumstances in a fleeing misdemeanant incident shows an emergency – such as the need to render emergency assistance, imminent harm to others, a threat to the officer, destruction of evidence, or the suspect’s escape from the home – police officers may act without waiting to obtain a warrant. In addition to the exigent circumstances exception, there are other recognized exceptions to the general requirement that a search warrant be obtained before entering or searching a home or other protected area, such as valid consent and the community caretaking doctrine. 1 Department of Justice Press Release, June 24, 2021.