The mere flight of a person suspected of a minor crime, without more, does not allow police officers to enter homes without warrants, the court said.
The Supreme Court, which has said that police officers do not need a warrant to enter a home when they are in “hot pursuit of a fleeing felon,” ruled on Wednesday that the same thing is not always true when the crime in question was as minor as playing a car stereo too loudly. Justice Elena Kagan, writing for a seven-justice majority, said the mere fact that someone suspected of a minor crime fled from the police did not justify entering a home. She added that other factors could change the calculus. “We have no doubt that in a great many cases flight creates a need for police to act swiftly,” she wrote. “A suspect may flee, for example, because he is intent on discarding evidence. Or his flight may show a willingness to flee yet again, while the police await a warrant. But no evidence suggests that every case of misdemeanor flight poses such dangers.” The case concerned Arthur Lange, who had retired to Sonoma, Calif., after a career in commercial real estate. Driving home around 10 p.m. in the fall of 2016, with the windows down, loud music on and occasionally honking the car’s horn, he caught the attention of a state highway patrol officer. The officer, Aaron Weikert, believing that Mr. Lange had committed noise infractions, followed him and, as Mr. Lange neared his home, activated the patrol car’s overhead lights. Mr. Lange drove into his garage, and as its door began to descend, Officer Weikert stopped the door with his foot, forced it to reopen and confronted Mr.
