Fleeing Misdemeanants and Hot Pursuits by Law Enforcement

• Fleeing Misdemeanants
• Warrantless Residential Entries by Law Enforcement in Misdemeanor Cases
• Exigent Circumstances Allowing for the Warrantless Entry of a Residence

Flight from law enforcement into one’s home by a misdemeanor suspect, by itself, without any articulable reason to believe an exigency exists above and beyond the flight itself, does not allow for an officer’s warrantless pursuit into the residence.  An exigency, such as a need to prevent (1) imminent harm or violence, (2) the possible destruction of evidence, or (3) the escape of the suspect from the home, must first be shown before a warrantless entry into the suspect’s residence is allowed.

Defendant Arthur Lange—having consumed a bit too much alcohol (later showing a blood-alcohol level of over three times the legal limit for driving)—was enjoying himself on the drive home from where ever he’d been drinking, playing his radio as loud as he could (with his windows rolled down) while repeatedly honking his horn to the beat of Merle ....