Does an officer need a warrant to go into a persons house?
A. Yes. A person’s home is their castle and is accorded special Fourth Amendment protection. Except in a very, very limited range of circumstances, a warrant will always be required. Absent probable cause and exigent circumstances, warrantless arrests in the home are prohibited by the Fourth Amendment. Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573 (1980). Q. An officer investigating an accident finds that an intoxicated individual caused an accident and left the scene. The officer goes to the person’s house and finds the intoxicated person there. Can the officer go in an arrest the person without a warrant? A. No. Before government agents may invade the sanctity of the home, the government must demonstrate exigent circumstances that overcome the presumption of unreasonableness that attaches to all warrantless home entries. An important factor to be considered when determining whether any exigency exists is the gravity of the underlying offense for which the arrest is being made. Moreover, although
