You have a reasonable expectation of privacy when you are in your own home. You also have a constitutional right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures of your property. Knowing those rights could be very important if the police come crashing through your door.
Sometimes, the behavior of police officers violates someone’s rights. Officers may try to then justify their behavior based on the circumstances. For years, police officers in hot pursuit of an individual could justify forcing their way onto other people’s private property to make an arrest.
In some scenarios, officers end up arresting someone at the property they entered because of a hot pursuit. Drug charges could easily result from a sudden, warrantless entry by police, for example. Thankfully for those worried that the police could kick in their door and arrest them, the Supreme Court has recently limited the times police officers can legally do that.
What did the Supreme Court decide?
There was recently a Supreme Court ruling regarding a hot pursuit and secondary arrest that occurred because of it. The Supreme Court found that the alleged offense leading to the hot pursuit must be serious enough to justify officers encroaching on other people’s property.
Simply put, misdemeanor offenses may not be adequate justification for officers to enter someone’s property without their permission during a hot pursuit. Understanding your rights can help you stand up for yourself when dealing with police officers or help your defense if you face drug charges or other criminal charges because of a questionable and sudden entry of your property.
