SCOTUS: "No warrant required" in Kentucky v. King

[Nationalist_Cause]

I hadn't seen anything about this story, which I find disturbing.

WASHINGTON — The police do not need a warrant to enter a home if they smell burning marijuana, knock loudly, announce themselves and hear what they think is the sound of evidence being destroyed, the Supreme Court ruled on Monday in an 8-to-1 decision.

The issue as framed by the majority was a narrow one. It assumed there was good reason to think evidence was being destroyed, and asked only whether the conduct of the police had impermissibly caused the destruction.

Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., writing for the majority, said police officers do not violate the Fourth Amendment’s ban on unreasonable searches by kicking down a door after the occupants of an apartment react to hearing that officers are there by seeming to destroy evidence.

In dissent, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote that the majority had handed the police an important new tool.

“The court today arms the police with a way routinely to dishonor the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement in drug cases,” Justice Ginsburg wrote. “In lieu of presenting their evidence to a neutral magistrate, police officers may now knock, listen, then break the door down, never mind that they had ample time to obtain a warrant.”

Source

I'm most disturbed by the fact that this wasn't even a close decision. One dissenting justice on this issue?

And what exactly is "good reason to think evidence is being destroyed" anyway? An officer can simply make a snap judgment at your doorstep and kick it in if he so desires?

[kentuckybandit]

Interesting to see the the Kentucky supreme court ruled that this was wrong first. I was actually surprised to see that our state supreme court ruled on anything, seems rare these days.

Drugs are a huge problem here in Lexington, Georgetown and the much of Central Kentucky, since we are at the intersection of I-75 and I-64 and A TON of drugs come through here. However this ruling is not a step in the right direction.

[YuriVII]

This is ed up. You know a cop is going to do it for any reason at all at a whim. Court going to take your side or their side? I think we all know the answer to that question. I dont like sounding like those Ron Paul guys, but America is a decaying police state.

[Menelik_I]

I hadn't seen anything about this story, which I find disturbing.


Source

I'm most disturbed by the fact that this wasn't even a close decision. One dissenting justice on this issue?

And what exactly is "good reason to think evidence is being destroyed" anyway? An officer can simply make a snap judgment at your doorstep and kick it in if he so desires?

Don't opening a new conspiracy nut thread about police state and all that BS, it is not like the police require any kind of restrain in their raid practices ... except when they put 72 bullets into a US Marine who came in one piece from 2 tours.

This is from Arizona Daily Star reporter Fernanda Echavarri's effort to piece together the death of Jose Guerena, 26, at the hands of a Pima County, Arizona SWAT team. Guerena, who joined the Marines in 2002 and served two tours in Iraq, was killed just after 9 a.m. May 5.

http://reason.com/blog/2011/05/16/ma...two-tours-in-i

When the police kill an innocent man in his wife arms over some war, which is to keep moronic middle class kid from smocking weed ... you have an awful country.

[xcorps]

The constant trickle of the erosion of our protections is, imo, the most fearsome casualty of the war on drugs.

[Plan C]

The constant trickle of the erosion of our protections is, imo, the most fearsome casualty of the war on drugs.

It is, sadly, to be expected, considering the premise of the war on drugs itself. Other than that there is nothing I can add to the above. + rep

[kentuckybandit]

The constant trickle of the erosion of our protections is, imo, the most fearsome casualty of the war on drugs.

The sad irony of this is, 10 years ago when I was in high school a panic spread because the head cop at our school made a false statement that we could be detained for simply smelling like weed. Anyone who went to high school in the city knows that you can't go take a piss without smelling like some kind of drug or alcohol.

Now its true!

......

What is also ironic is that this case stemmed from cocaine and marijuana, when the real pandemic here in Kentucky is meth and pill abuse.

[Last Roman]

The constant trickle of the erosion of our protections is, imo, the most fearsome casualty of the war on drugs.

But we gotta take down those dangerous and crazed pot smoking teenagers some how!

[MathiasOfAthens]

This is very tricky. Sometimes cops are at doors (dont know why) without a warrant and they hear something inside and later find out its some bad mischief going on and if only they could enter and stop it. But this could encourage knock and raids where cops just go up to doors without warrants knock and then bust in and say they heard something later.

[Menelik_I]

This is very tricky. Sometimes cops are at doors (dont know why) without a warrant and they hear something inside and later find out its some bad mischief going on and if only they could enter and stop it. But this could encourage knock and raids where cops just go up to doors without warrants knock and then bust in and say they heard something later.

Would make sense for suspected murder, robbery or rape ... but for drugs ?

[Rolling Thunder]

Would make sense for suspected murder, robbery or rape ... but for drugs ?

The entire War On Drugs is the vastest sack of horse in politics to this day, and that's including the communists, so, I guess my point is....why are you surprised?

[Gaidin]

Would make sense for suspected murder, robbery or rape ... but for drugs ?

Suspicion of destroying evidence has always been an exigent circumstance. Hell exigent circumstance lets them skip the knock and announce part of the warrant if that's the nature of their warrant(note that the police, not having a warrant, did announce themselves). Destruction of evidence, civilians in eminent danger, and escaping suspects are the three incidents where it is allowed. The defense tried to argue that they didn't have exigent circumstance and failed. All they need is probable cause, which burning marijuana gives them. This is nothing new. This isn't to say I don't agree with Justice Ginsburg's stance that the circumstance shouldn't be a result of them asserting themselves, but exigent circumstances have never made that distinction except in the case that it could be established that the Officers consciously brought about the circumstance, which I presume was not shown.

[Menelik_I]

Suspicion of destroying evidence has always been an exigent circumstance. Hell exigent circumstance lets them skip the knock and announce part of the warrant if that's the nature of their warrant. Destruction of evidence, civilians in eminent danger, and escaping suspects are the three incidents where it is allowed. The defense tried to argue that they didn't exigent circumstance and failed. All they need is probable cause, which burning marijuana gives them. This is nothing new. This isn't to say I don't agree with Justice Ginsburg's stance that the circumstance shouldn't be a result of them asserting themselves, but exigent circumstances have never made that distinction.

I don't argue for the legaleses of the thing, the whole war on drugs is dumb all in itself.

In case of Murder, Robbery or sexual assault it isn't a matter of simply preventing evidence to be destructed, but to prevent an actual crime from happening.

[Gaidin]

In case of Murder, Robbery or sexual assault it isn't a matter of simply preventing evidence to be destructed, but to prevent an actual crime from happening.

Hence one of the cases of exigent circumstance being someone in eminent danger.

[MathiasOfAthens]

Would make sense for suspected murder, robbery or rape ... but for drugs ?

True. Without this ruling Cops could still knock and storm in and confiscate whatever drugs they find but the charges would be thrown out for violating some rules like possessing a warrant. Now you can bust through doors and arrest people without warrants if a cop suspects the house has drugs or a prostitution ring or whatever idk. No need for judges. This just saves our overburden, traffic ticket writing police some time to really hunt down the dangerous criminals who smoke weed. Thank god for our American Freedoms. This is honestly the greatest and most freest country in the whole wide world.

Oh and Menelik that was a really sad story... I vaguely remembered it when you posted it but honestly that was very sad. I dont understand why the Swat members just stood by and watched him die? And then went outside?

[Angrychris]

Thats why you need to legalize it

[Exarch]

can i get a hell yeah for police state?

[Angrychris]

like the tom cruise movie where they prevent crime before happening

[chamaeleo]

And what exactly is "good reason to think evidence is being destroyed" anyway?

The sound of a flushed toilet? Kentucky tokers should start doing their deed on the throne: "Mary-what, officer?!? Trust me, if I hadn't lit that stick of Nag, you'd be gagging...now, shut the damn door, so I can pull up my pants!"

[MathiasOfAthens]

@Menelik that story was a good example of no knock raids going wrong. From what I got the cops were searching every house on the block or something. Anyway. This was a No Knock raid and some guys with guns show up and scare the wife who runs in and wakes up the Marine and says some guys with guns are outside. So what does he do? He grabs his firearm that conservatives love to say everyone should have to defend their families from intruders. Anyway he grabs it and heads to the door or kitchen to see whose out there and some ing Deputy accidently discharges his pistol and everyone opens fire? FFS. Way to up a family.

And there was another case in Atlanta, Georgia where an 90 year old woman killed in a no knock raid and had drugs planted on her to cover up the mistake.