Great Lakes Wire

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is leading a group of 35 attorneys general and chief state attorneys in urging the U.S. Supreme Court to clarify the standards under which police may enter homes without a warrant during emergencies. The coalition filed an amicus brief in Case v. Montana, asking the Court to affirm that law enforcement can act on reasonable suspicion that someone inside a home needs emergency aid.

“Police officers often have to make split-second decisions when lives are at stake,” Nessel said. “Requiring a warrant before they can act in an emergency would delay lifesaving measures and put people in need at greater risk. The Constitution rightfully protects against unreasonable searches, but it also recognizes that emergencies demand flexibility. I urge the Supreme Court to uphold that balance and ensure law enforcement can protect our communities.”

The case centers on an incident from September 2021, when police responded to William Trevor Case’s home after his ex-girlfriend reported he had threatened suicide, was behaving erratically, and might have fired a gun. Officers saw empty beer cans through a window and an empty handgun holster but received no response from inside for about 40 minutes. Police then entered the home, where they encountered Case reaching for what appeared to be a weapon; one officer shot him, and a handgun was later found nearby.

Case was charged with Assault on a Peace Officer and convicted. He appealed his conviction to the Montana Supreme Court, which upheld it by finding police acted properly under the community caretaker doctrine—allowing entry without a warrant when there are objective facts suggesting someone may be in danger.

Now appealing to the U.S. Supreme Court, Case argues that police should need probable cause before entering homes under the emergency-aid exception of the Fourth Amendment.

Nessel and her colleagues contend that only an objectively reasonable belief based on reasonable suspicion—not probable cause—is required for such entries. They argue in their brief that “the Warrant Clause of the Fourth Amendment does not apply to these situations because officers are not entering to collect evidence of a crime, but rather to protect life and safety.” The coalition further asserts that states have a vested interest in enabling law enforcement to respond quickly in emergencies.

Attorneys general or chief state attorneys from Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Maine, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia Washington West Virginia and the District of Columbia joined Michigan in filing the brief.