This archive report was first published on 24 June 2021.
On June 23, 2021, the Supreme Court issued a landmark ruling in the case of Lange v. California, No. 20-18, which challenged the constitutionality of warrantless entries into homes during 'hot pursuit' of a suspected misdemeanant.
Justice Elena Kagan delivered the majority opinion, rejecting the argument that misdemeanors always justify warrantless entries. She emphasized that officers must consider all the circumstances in a pursuit case to determine whether there is a law enforcement emergency.
According to Justice Kagan, 'an officer must consider all the circumstances in a pursuit case to determine whether there is a law enforcement emergency. On many occasions, the officer will have good reason to enter — to prevent imminent harms of violence, destruction of evidence or escape from the home. But when the officer has time to get a warrant, he must do so — even though the misdemeanant fled.'
Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. issued a concurring opinion, questioning the majority's approach and asserting that flight was enough to justify entering homes without a warrant. He argued that 'hot pursuit is not merely a setting in which other exigent circumstances justifying warrantless entry might emerge. It is itself an exigent circumstance.'
The court sent the case back to the lower courts for a fresh look in light of the ruling.
