Provo Law Enforcement Get Green Light to Break Into Homes
Yesterday the United States Supreme Court issued a decision, called Kentucky v. King, which the Provo police and other Utah County law enforcement agencies are sure to use to their advantage…but to the chagrin of Provo and Utah County residents.
You see in the King case the Supreme Court basically gave Provo police and law enforcement throughout Utah and the United States carte blanche to bust down doors of the homes of people suspected of destroying evidence of drugs. The decision leaves significant discretion to the police to determine if they should get a warrant or just kick down the door of someone’s house they suspect to be destroying evidence of a drug offenses.
In the King case a drug suspect entered an apartment. The police banged on the door, announced their presence, and then heard noises which they believed meant the suspect was destroying evidence. The police kicked down the door, entered the home, and arrested those present. The Supreme Court found that the police officers’ entrance by force without a warrant was reasonable.
The Reasonable Standard Very Dangerous to Our Civil Liberties
The Supreme Court basically said that so long as a warrantless entry is reasonable it will be upheld. What does that mean? So if a Provo police officer in his own subjective viewpoint believes that kicking down a door on the fear that evidence is being destroyed that is sufficient? What happened to the Fourth Amendment. There is essentially no protections left to be secure and safe in our homes from government intrusion. A police officer can now just make up a pretext that he thought evidence was being destroyed.
Provo Criminal Defense Here to Fight For Your
In spite of this egregious decision from the Supreme Court, we will continue to fight for the rights of defendants and to protect their right to unreasonable searches and seizures.
Let our law firm protect you. For a free consultation, contact us at 801.800.8246.
