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Hypothetical gun is not exigent circumstance

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

A hypothetical possibility defendant might have had a gun in the house is not an exigent circumstance. United States v. Risner, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 102170 (N.D. Ind. December 17, 2008): No exigent circumstances justified the officers' entry into the residence. The government notes that Mr. Risner was known to have a firearm and could have begun firing at those outside the residence; Mr. Risner was known to drive while intoxicated in the past, was known to be intoxicated, and so might have taken to the road. It's true that nothing absolutely prevented these possibilities, but they were no more than hypothetical possibilities, not an apparent urgency that justified making what would have been an unreasonable search for Mr. Risner under other circumstances...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on December 21, 2008 (boomark / email).