Lange v. California, 594 U.S. _______ (2021): Overview: Pursuit of a fleeing misdemeanor suspect does not always allow an exigent circumstance entry into a home.
Case Quote: The flight of a suspected misdemeanant does not always justify a warrantless entry into a home. 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.
U.S. v. Cooley, 593 U.S. _______ (2021): Overview: A tribal officer has the authority to detain and search a non-Indian parked on a public right of way running through the reservation for potential violations of federal and state law.
Case Quote: To deny a tribal police officer authority to search and detain for a reasonable time any person he or she believes may commit or has committed a crime would make it difficult for tribes to protect themselves against ongoing threats. Such threats may be posed by, for instance, non-Indian drunk drivers, transporters of contraband, or other criminal offenders operating on roads within the boundaries of a tribal reservation. As the Washington Supreme Court has noted, “[a]llowing a known drunk driver to get back in his or her car, careen off down the road, and possibly kill or injure Indians or non-Indians would certainly be detrimental to the health or welfare of the Tribe.” [Internal Citation omitted]
Caniglia v. Strom, 593 U.S. _______ (2021): Overview: The community caretaking function of Cady v. Dombrowski did not create a “standalone doctrine” justifying the warrantless removal of a firearm from a home.
Case Quote: [The police] called an ambulance, and petitioner agreed to go to the hospital for a psychiatric evaluation— but only after [the police] allegedly promised not to confiscate his firearms. Once the ambulance had taken petitioner away, however, [the police] seized the weapons. What is reasonable for vehicles is different from what is reasonable for homes. Cady acknowledged as much, and this Court has repeatedly “declined to expand the scope of . . . exceptions to the warrant requirement to permit warrantless entry into the home.
