PC to believe the arrestee is "home"

I am asked a lot about the standard for "forcible" entry of a home with an arrest warrant. How sure does the officer have to be to enter to execute the arrest warrant?

There is a lot of debate around the country on this issue.

The courts in some states say there must be probable cause and some states say the burden of proof for officers is lower than PC.

I say that "probably" the standard in Illinois is even lower than PC. I usually advise that officers have PC before forcibly entering as I believe that was the intent of the USSC when it decided PAYTON.

Example -- If the arrestee lives there and his car is there -- for me, that's enough to enter -- after knocking, announcing and waiting.

The courts are extremely generous to officers in this area -- the only case that comes to mind where the officers entery was held to be unconstitutional was a circumstance where the officers knew the arrestee was at work, but entered his home anyway to execute the warrant.

Officers should always use good judgment when entering a home with an arrest warrant -- and should find out the states attorney's policies regarding this execution.

Best -

DA

Car is painted the wrong color

Q: At roll call, an officer asked, “Can I use the fact that a vehicle is a different color than what comes back on the 10-28 as a reason to stop the car?” Yes or No

A: I do not know any cases right on point.

Maybe someone can help me with this as I'm not sure about why specifically this fact increases suspicion.

If the car is older, I would think that maybe it was in accident, and the owner decided to re-paint it.

Unless someone can explain why this is suspicious, I will have to say that the fact that car is wrong color won't create reasonable suspicion to stop it.

Best -

DA

Seminars -- Winter Term

The following is my seminar schedule for winter term under the auspices of NEMRT. I will be spending some of my winter "snow-birding" in the south. :-)

November 3-5 -- S & S - Officers -- Lincolnwood

November 17-19 -- S & S - Officers -- Matteson

November 23 -- Traffic Stops (S & S) -- Niles

December 1-3 -- S & S - Sgts -- Clarendon Hills

December 15 -- Civil Liability -- E Hazelcrest

December 17 -- Statements (Legal Issues) -- Arlington Heights`

January 5-7 -- S & S - Sgts -- Tinley Park

January 12-14 -- S & S for Drug Officers -- Darien

February 9-11 -- S & S for Drug Officers -- Streamwood

February 22 -- Traffic Stops (S & S) -- Burbank

February 24 -- Recent Cases -- LaGrange

February 26 -- Traffic Stops (S & S) -- Elgin

See you at one of these!

Best -

DA

Forced Entry of Premises With an Arrest Warrant

Q - If you have a valid arrest warrant for a subject, and you know he is inside his own residence (or his parents), does it make any difference if the warrant is a felony or misdemeanor as far as forcing entry to the residence to make the arrest? Also, is there specific case law regarding forcing entry into the residence to make the arrest with a valid arrest warrant?

A - Yes, there specific case law regarding your question, and the answer is generally no, the courts officially due not usually distinguish between a felony and misdemeanor warrant (see People v Sain in my book). But a lot of prosecutors -- and judges -- do not like forcing entry based on misdemeanor warrants.

I suspect that this question arose from a very controversial case that has more facts. I have been told about some of those facts.

Officers go to the suspect's home to arrest him on a misdemeanor warrant. He is not there but at his parent's home. so the officers go there. They knock on the door, and the suspect comes to the door. The officers tell the suspect that he is under arrest. The suspect will not come out. So the police enter and arrest him.

Now is where the trouble starts. Apparently, the officers want to get the arrestee's shoes for him. The parents tell the officers to get out of their home. The officers get into an argument that turns into a fight with the parents (both some where between 60-90 years old I think?).

The parents are arrested. The prosecutor refuses to prosecute -- drops the case.

So the parents sue under Section 1983 for a civil rights violation -- presumably no search warrant to enter their home and excessive force.

The problem for the police here, IMO, is that in order to enter a third-party's home to arrest a suspect, they must have a search warrant. Otherwise, the police are violating the third party's rights -- not the arrestee's rights.

So, in the final analysis, will the officers lose? -- Probably.

I sincerely believe that had the officers secured the arrestee and wisked him away without roaming through the parent's home to get the arrestee's shoes, everything would have ended ok here.

So -- officers should be careful in situations such as these.

Obviously, if the arrestee lives in more than one home, officers may enter any of his homes forcibly with an arrest warrant if they have probable cause to believe the arrestee is in a particular home.

BTW - If anyone knows any more about the facts, etc in this case, I would be more than happy to be educated.

Best -

DA

Fall Seminars -- Illinois

These are the classes offered by NEMRT (MTU 3) that you might be interested in. You can check the NEMRT catalogue or go on line (NEMRT.com) for more info

August 24 -- Traffic Stops (S and S) -- Crystal Lake

August 25-28 -- S and S for Sgts -- Gurnee

August 31 -- Traffic Stops (S and S) -- Downers Grove

September 1-3 -- S and S for Offs -- Batavia

September 8-10 -- S and S for Drug Offs -- Tinley Park

September 14 -- Traffic Stops (S and S) -- Westchester

September 15-17 -- S and S for Offs -- LaGrange

September 22 -- Statements Law -- Norridge

September 24 -- Civil Liability -- Winnetka

September 29 - October 1 -- S and S for Sgts -- Channahon

October 5-7 -- S and S for Drug Offs -- Lake Zurich

October 26-28 -- S and S for Offs -- Niles

October 30 -- Recent Cases -- St. Charles

Hope to see you at one of these!

Best -

DA

Blogs, E-Mails, USSC Term, Misc

I know that I have trouble getting to my blogs. Again, I apologize. But I will try at least to spend a day or two every month trying to catch up.

I welcome your e-mails at my e-mail address -- DAA2000@aol.com. I get 5-10 e-mails a day.

I try my best to get back to you as soon as possible. But some times I frankly don't know the answer, so I can't respond until I find time to do some research.

So for some of you that have e-mailed me, and haven't heard back, please e-mail me again.

If you want to know more about the Illinois or Arizona books, please e-mail me.

The United States Supreme Court is more or less at recess from August until October, so I have tried to capture all of the important cases of the term before completing those books -- for the last time.

Best -

DA