The United States Supreme Court unanimously ruled Monday that a so-called exception to the Fourth Amendment called "community caretaking" does not permit police officers to enter and search your home without first obtaining a search warrant, even if doing so may be in the public's interest.
The Supreme Court heard the case — Caniglia v. Strom — upon appeal by Edward Caniglia, a Rhode Island man whose house was searched by warrantless police officers in 2015. During that search, police seized two firearms, which Caniglia recovered only after jumping through numerous bureaucratic hoops.
Caniglia later sued law enforcement, arguing their actions violated his Fourth Amendment right against a warrantless search and seizure.
However, police claimed they acted lawfully under the "community caretaking" exception, which originated from Cady v. Dombrowski, a 1973 Supreme Court case that said police officers can conduct certain "community caretaking functions" if done in a "reasonable" manner. In that case, police officers had seized a gun located in an impounded car without a warrant.
