Justices unanimously vote that warrantless home search is unconstitutional.
In a 9-0 ruling issued Monday in Caniglia v. Strom, the justices of the Supreme Court overturned a lower court ruling that allowed law enforcement to confiscate guns from a home without a warrant under the Fourth Amendment’s “community caretaking exception.” The Rhode Island plaintiff had had his guns taken from his house due to his wife expressing concern that he might hurt himself.
The unanimous opinion, written by Justice Clarence Thomas, contrasted the function of officers searching a vehicle that has been impounded without a warrant, the basis of the First Circuit’s decision, against entering a home. Justice Thomas wrote that officers performing these duties do not have “an open-ended license to perform them anywhere.” The ruling stated, “What is reasonable for vehicles is different from what is reasonable for homes.”
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For the justices of the Supreme Court as they evaluate and decide cases based on the U.S. Constitution.
- For wisdom for the justices as they choose which cases to hear.
- For the judges of the federal judicial system to have discernment in their rulings.
Sources: Supreme Court, American Military News
