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CA9: There were exigent circumstances to enter house to retrieve a child who was with an alleged sexual predator

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Officer had exigent circumstances to enter house to retrieve a child who was with an alleged sexual predator. He knocked on the door to ask about the child, and the lights inside went out and it sounded like the occupant was hiding. United States v. Kenfield, 2008 U.S. App. LEXIS 6686 (9th Cir. March 21, 2008)*: Deputy Cameron's search meets the Snipe test. First, he had a reasonable basis for concluding that there was an immediate need to protect a minor female from serious harm. Cameron was searching for the girl at the request of her grandmother. The sheriff's office had received an anonymous phone call saying the girl was out getting drunk with Kenfield. He first established that the girl had lied to her grandmother about her whereabouts...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on March 31, 2008 (boomark / email).