Exigent Circumstances and the Fourth Amendment

Exigent Circumstances and the Fourth Amendment

The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article I, Paragraph 7 of the New Jersey Constitution both state that “[t]he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.”

As a result of these federal and state constitutional protections, police officers generally must obtain a warrant from a judge based on probable cause before searching a person, home, vehicle, or property for evidence related to a crime. However, over the years, the courts have developed some exceptions to the warrant requirement before a police search. One of these exceptions is the “exigent circumstances” exception.

Defining Exigent Circumstances

Exigent circumstances are urgent, unforeseen emergencies in which immediate police action is required without a warrant for one of various reasons. When exigent circumstances exist, a police officer must act promptly to prevent harm, avoid losing evidence, or capture a suspect through immediate action without a warrant. If exigent circumstances exist, the police do not violate the defendant’s federal or state constitutional rights by performing a warrantless search and seizure.

Examples of Exigent Circumstances

The courts have defined some examples of exigent circumstances that may justify warrantless search and seizures. However, the facts of every case differ, and these situations are limited in scope.

Imminent Threat to Public Safety or Police

An imminent threat to public safety or someone’s life is one of the most common reasons for exigent circumstances that justify a warrantless search and seizure. For example, suppose a police officer approaches a home and hears a woman screaming and other noises indicating a fight is occurring. In that case, the office likely can justify entry to ensure that the individuals in the home are safe. Likewise, if someone shoots a gun from the house toward officers, they may be able to enter the house immediately to avoid further injury to themselves and/or the occupants of the house.

Compromising a Police Investigation

Other examples of exigent circumstances focus more on irreparable harm or compromising a police investigation. Under these examples, the loss of a suspect or evidence can be fatal to the police building their criminal case.

Risk of Escape of a Suspect

The risk of escape is another example of exigent circumstances that may warrant an immediate search and seizure. If a suspect flees the scene and enters a home to hide from police, the police may be able to enter the home to find the suspect if they believe that he is planning to leave the home to escape the police.

Hot Pursuit

Hot pursuit is a type of exigent circumstances that is very similar to the risk of escape of a suspect. In this scenario, police officers are actively pursuing a suspect attempting to evade arrest. As a result, the officers may be able to enter a building or other property where they believe the suspect is hiding to arrest him. However, a hot pursuit only exists when the police chase is continuous and uninterrupted. The entry of the police officer on the private property to arrest the suspect must occur close in time and near the place where the pursuit was occurring.

Risk of Destruction of Evidence

Exigent circumstances may also exist if evidence is destroyed without police taking immediate action without a warrant. The evidence at risk of destruction typically must be crucial to the criminal case. For instance, if police officers witness an individual who has illegal drugs in his possession making any move to dispose of those drugs, they may be able to search the individual and seize the illegal drugs without a warrant.

Analyzing Exigent Circumstances

When courts analyze and evaluate exigent circumstances, they apply various tests and factors based on the objective reasonableness of the police officer’s actions, whether the police officer had probable cause, and the time constraints involved. A combination of these considerations helps courts determine whether exigent circumstances justify a warrantless search and seizure. If a court finds that exigent circumstances did not exist, then a Fourth Amendment violation may result in the exclusion of any evidence resulting from the illegal search and seizure.

Objective Reasonableness Test

The first question that courts consider is whether a reasonable police officer in the same situation would have believed that exigent circumstances existed. Some factors that courts may consider in this inquiry include the nature and severity of the crime, the immediacy of any threats to public safety or loss of evidence, the extent of the intrusion on the individual’s privacy, and whether the officer had alternative methods available to achieve the same goal.

Probable Cause

The court also looks at whether the officer had probable cause to believe that they would find evidence or the suspect in the location searched. Probable cause refers to the probability that the officer will find evidence or that a crime has been committed based on the overall situation.

Time Constraints and Urgency

Finally, the court examines how urgency and time constraints affected the situation. In other words, the court determines whether the situation is so urgent that getting a warrant is impossible or impracticable before jeopardizing public safety or the criminal investigation. The seriousness of the crime, i.e., if it involved a bomb, firearms, or a hostage, also may affect the urgency of the situation.

Limitations on Exigent Circumstances

The exigent circumstances exception is not without limits. For instance, if police officers enter a residence under this exception, they are limited to seizing evidence that is in plain view. As a result, they cannot open drawers or closed doors looking for more criminal evidence.

Get the Legal Advice that You Need in Your Criminal Case

The legality of such conduct by police officers in such cases are extremely fact specific and therefore require a careful review of all relevant facts of each individual case.   The criminal defense lawyers of Rosenberg, Perry & Associates, LLC, can evaluate the allegations of criminal actions against you and develop the defense strategy most likely to be successful in your case. Legal advice and representation can be crucial to a positive outcome in your case. You can reach us by phone at (609) 216-7400 or visit us online.