The Supreme Court ruled that the police can enter the house and arrest people without a search warrant article cover image
News/Community Wire/Archive/May 20, 2011
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The Supreme Court ruled that the police can enter the house and arrest people without a search warrant

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The Supreme Court ruled that the police can enter the house and arrest people without a search warrant. The Federal Supreme Court ruled by an eight-to-one vote on the 16th that the police were outside the apartment of King, a man in Lexington, Kentucky...

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The Supreme Court ruled that the police could enter the house and arrest people without a search warrant. The federal Supreme Court ruled eight to one on the 16th that the police smelled the smell of marijuana outside the apartment of King, a man in Lexington, Kentucky, and were worried that he would destroy criminal evidence. They broke in without a search warrant and arrested King. It was a reasonable act and did not violate King's constitutional rights. A Supreme Court justice overturned a previous ruling by the Kentucky Superior Court that evidence obtained by police when they entered King's apartment could not be used as evidence in court. In this case, police knocked on the door of King's apartment and believed the sounds they heard indicated someone inside was trying to destroy evidence. This case involves an exception to the Fourth Amendment that requires police to enter a home without a search warrant. The question is whether it is reasonable for the police to enter a home without a search warrant when the police knock on the door and cause a reaction in the house, which sounds like destroying evidence. The majority ruling written by Justice Alito said that people have no obligation to respond to this kind of knocking, even if they open the door, they do not let the police in. In most of these cases, the police must persuade the judge to issue a search warrant, but "residents who choose not to insist on their rights and try to destroy the evidence have only themselves to blame." Justice Ginsburg, the lone dissenter, said other justices' rulings made it easier for police to avoid obtaining search warrants in drug cases. "Police may now knock on the door, listen, and then break in even if they have enough time to obtain a search warrant," Ginsburg said. In this case, the police entered the apartment building where Jin En lived because they were looking for another man who sold cocaine to police netizens. The man hid in one of the two apartments. The police did not know which one it was, but they smelled the smell of burning marijuana in Jin En's apartment, so they chose his apartment to knock on the door. Police later arrested the previous drug dealer. According to past practice, the ruling in this case will be extended to police law enforcement actions in any state.

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