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U.S. Supreme Court to Decide if Police Can Barge in Unannounced
by Haider Rizvi
NEW YORK - Forget the ongoing privacy debate over U.S. government spying on telephone conversations--soon you may not have the right to tell cops to wait until you open your door.
In a case involving a private citizen and police authorities of the Midwestern state of Michigan, a team of civil rights lawyers appeared before the Supreme Court this week to challenge the police practice of storming into homes to look for whatever they want as evidence of a crime.
The case was brought before the Court last year by Booker Hudson, a resident of the industrial city of Detroit. Hudson says he was arrested by several police officers after they broke into his home without any warning.
Hudson was found guilty of possession of a small quantity of cocaine (found in the pocket of trousers), which led him to serve 18 months of probation, as sentenced by a judge at a local court.
Hudson challenged the verdict and took his case all the way to the Michigan State Supreme Court, arguing that that the evidence used against him by the police was found in violation of his constitutional rights.
The court, however, rejected his plea last year in January.
Hudson's lawyers argued that police had no right to enter his home without knocking at the door and announcing their presence, which is a requirement under the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
"It is undisputed that the police violated the Fourth Amendment by barging into Hudson's home," says David Moran, a law professor at Wayne State University, who appeared before the Supreme Court Monday on Hudson's behalf.
The fourth amendment states that, "the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated." It also notes that warrants shall only be issued once authorities have established "probable cause" and described the people, places, and things to be searched and seized.
In a 1995 Supreme Court opinion, Justice Clarence Thomas stressed that the "knock and announce" rule that Hudson's case rests upon protects the dignity of residents by allowing them a reasonable time to make themselves presentable before the police enter.
The rule also protects private property by allowing residents to open doors, rather than having them destroyed by a police battering ram, Thomas said, according to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), who filed an amicus brief in the case last September.
Hudson wants the Supreme Court to reverse the Michigan court's ruling, which embraced the argument that had the search been conducted legally, the evidence against him would have been found anyway. Under this reasoning, Hudson's lawyers say, police would have no incentive to avoid unconstitutional shortcuts--like failing to get a warrant or simply barging into homes--when looking for evidence.
Moran and other lawyers representing Hudson say they are hopeful that the Supreme Court will decide the case in their favor by ordering the suppression of evidence against their client.
"There is a good reason for the 'knock and announce' requirement," says Kary Moss, another lawyer affiliated with the ACLU. "The Court has always placed a higher priority on the rights of people within their homes."
"Michigan's practice has made it too easy to completely disregard those rights," he adds. "We urge the Supreme Court to not allow policy to violate those rights with impunity."
And Hudson's case is not the only one of its kind.
Moran, who has taken up several other similar cases, says the issue of the police transgressing their powers in search of criminal evidence is being disputed in courtrooms across the country.
"This is a frequently occurring issue," Moran told OneWorld. "This must be stopped."
In recent years, a number of rights advocacy groups, including the U.K.-based Amnesty International and the U.S.-based Human Rights Watch, have documented hundreds of cases of police abuse and brutality.
Research shows that in most cases, the poor and minorities are the ones who suffer from police abuse.
While some courts have embraced the Michigan's Supreme Court's position, a number of state and circuit courts of appeal have ruled in favor of the "knock and announce" requirement, according to the ACLU.
The Supreme Court is expected to make its judgment on Hudson's case in June.
Sweet weepin' jeezus, Wally! Can you, too, hear the clomping of jack-booted thugs? This is a huge decision by the Court.... Go the wrong way and the 4th amendment truly ceases to exist....
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Here's to the Army and Navy and the battles they have won; here's to America's colors, the colors that never run. May the wings of liberty never lose a feather. ....
It is playing out like a bad dream movie. It doesn't scare me. It pisses me off. I would like to think that the individuals in the Police and military would never take an order to suppress the citizenry.
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In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way.
Franklin D. Roosevelt
"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." --Voltaire
Sweet weepin' jeezus, Wally! Can you, too, hear the clomping of jack-booted thugs? This is a huge decision by the Court.... Go the wrong way and the 4th amendment truly ceases to exist....
Well, Wickenburg is a long way from Detroit. Lived in Detroit and visited Wickenburg and I think crime is a differing levels. I am sure the Police in Detroit have a different environment to deal with then the Police in Wickenburg.
Seriously, as long as the police had a warrant then they should be able to make the call of knocking or knocking down the door. If they have a warrant then there is probably cause. Having the police announcing their intent may not be a good idea in all cases.
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The greatest lies are told before a marriage, after a hunt and during an election - Count Bismark
However, you have to go through the channels and get a warrant, show the probable cause and be specific to what you will search and what you are looking for
if they were just busting into his house because they thought they would find x,y or z and didn't have a warrant then this should of been thrown out a long time ago
Well, Wickenburg is a long way from Detroit. Lived in Detroit and visited Wickenburg and I think crime is a differing levels. I am sure the Police in Detroit have a different environment to deal with then the Police in Wickenburg
For the record, though... I've lived in Wickenburg for about 10 years. I've also lived in Mesa, Tempe, Phoenix, Washington DC and Baltimore. You didn't seriously believe that you'd run into a lib FROM Wickenburg, did you????
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Here's to the Army and Navy and the battles they have won; here's to America's colors, the colors that never run. May the wings of liberty never lose a feather. ....
For the record, though... I've lived in Wickenburg for about 10 years. I've also lived in Mesa, Tempe, Phoenix, Washington DC and Baltimore. You didn't seriously believe that you'd run into a lib FROM Wickenburg, did you????
It was my best attempt at the "I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack Kennedy was a friend of mine....." bit.....
But, I think it depends on the situation and we need to give the Police the freedom to do what they need (within bounds) that makes sense.
BTW.... Baltimore is quite a place.
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The greatest lies are told before a marriage, after a hunt and during an election - Count Bismark
I have to wonder what information is not included in the lead article. Otherwise, how would such a seemingly clear-cut case of a Fourth Amendment violation have gotten all of the way up the chain to the U.S. Supreme Court? Based upon what is stated in the article one would think that this case would have been tossed long ago...
So I believe there is more to this story than what is found in that article.
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"Get your facts first, and then you can distort them as much as you please."
-Samuel Langhorne Clemens
I have to wonder what information is not included in the lead article. Otherwise, how would such a seemingly clear-cut case of a Fourth Amendment violation have gotten all of the way up the chain to the U.S. Supreme Court? Based upon what is stated in the article one would think that this case would have been tossed long ago...
So I believe there is more to this story than what is found in that article.
It didn't say specifically if they had a warrant or not but I assume so or the lawyer would be all over that.
As far as I know the police only do the smash and go arrest on people they think are dangerous or evidence could be destroyed.
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Here's to the Army and Navy and the battles they have won; here's to America's colors, the colors that never run. May the wings of liberty never lose a feather. ....
SOP is knock and announce. I see no reason that the authorities will use this ruling to change tactics.
I've done 'no announce' warrants due to extreme circumstances that were detailed in the warrant affadavit. It was not fun and entailed a lot of prior surveillance in the attempt to eliminate innocent bystanders/occupants. It was dangerous back then and it's even worse now.
I think the question here should be, What counts as a knock?
A battering ram to your front door could be considered a knock. Some might equate it as an unquestionably obvious attempt to get the attention of the occupant. After all. The police must not be allowed to do a pinky knock. A two fingered double knock may not qualify as producing a noise audible throughout the home as to even the hardest of hearing or drug induced comatose could clearly understand there is someone at the door wishing to speak to them.
I think the battering ram is a solution that fits the need. Every drug dealer should recognize this as the universal code for "You got 1.2 seconds to dump yer stuff" knock.
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