Case Law for Cops: Steagald v United States

Описание: In this video, Dennis goes over the case Steagald v United States. Which states that a Police Officer may not conduct a warrantless search of a 3rd party's home in an attempt to apprehend the subject of an arrest warrant.

Facts of the case
On January 14, 1978, a confidential informant contacted the Detroit police with information that wanted-drug dealer Ricky Lyons was at a residence in Atlanta, Georgia. Atlanta police responded to the residence and, without a warrant, searched the home of petitioner Gary Steagald. Although the police did not find Lyons, they did find what appeared to be cocaine. At this point, the police obtained a warrant and completed their search, in which they found 43 pounds of cocaine.

Question
Does the Fourth Amendment prevent police officers from searching for a suspect in the home of a third party without obtaining a warrant?

Conclusion
The Court held that the Fourth Amendment prevents all warrantless searches of homes unless there are clearly exigent circumstances. Although the officers in this case did have a warrant to arrest Lyons, their warrant did not extend to the search of Steagald’s home, and there was no judicial oversight to determine if there were grounds for such an extension.