Oral Arguments in Caniglia v. Strom Today at 10:00am EST
This morning at 10:00am EST, the United States Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in Caniglia v. Strom. You should be able to listen live to the oral arguments on the C-Span website. The issue presented is “Whether the ‘community caretaking’ exception to the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement extends to the home.”
In Caniglia, the petitioner’s wife called the police because she was worried about him and the possibility that he would kill himself.
Based on their conversations with Petitioner and Mrs. Caniglia, the officers believed there was a 6 risk that Petitioner would harm himself. Id. As a result, they summoned a rescue lieutenant from the Cranston Fire Department to the Caniglias’ home….That officer told Petitioner that he was taking him to a local hospital….Petitioner went along after the police told him they would not take his two handguns if he did so….At the hospital, a nurse and a social worker examined Petitioner….He was discharged the very same day, but had to pay about $1000 for the visit….Meanwhile, the officers entered the Caniglias’ home to seize Petitioner’s guns….The officers believed “it was reasonable to do so based on [Petitioner’s] state of mind,” and feared that “[Petitioner] and others could be in danger” if guns remained in the home….After the officers falsely represented to Mrs. Caniglia that Petitioner had consented, she led the officers to the guns….The officers then seized them.
Historically, the community caretaking exception only applied to warantless entries into vehicles (e.g., a police officer entering and moving a disabled car to allow prevent traffic from backing up). But a number of courts have found that it also applies warrantless home entries. I wrote the amici curiae brief on behalf of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and Criminal Procedure Professor arguing that the community caretaking exception should be limited to warantless entries into vehicles. It will be interesting to what questions the Justices ask to both sides to day.
-CM