Limiting Exigency: A Study Investigating the Impact of Lange v. California on the Warrants Requirement

• In Event: Policy Change: Impacts on and of Policing and Corrections

Abstract

In 2021, the United States Supreme Court in Lange v. California held that pursuit of a fleeing misdemeanor suspect does not categorically qualify as an exigent circumstance to justify law enforcement executing a warrantless entry into a home. In doing so, the Court denied a sweeping expansion of the exigent circumstance exception regarding fleeing suspects by considering the severity of the offense and varied nature of misdemeanors. While on the surface Lange v. California appears to be transformational in stemming the tide of the exigent circumstance exception from consuming the Fourth Amendment, this decision may prove more symbolic than substantive. Indeed, there are other exigencies for which law enforcement can leverage entry into a home without a warrant even against misdemeanants. This study aims to investigate this phenomena more closely by systematically reviewing state and federal criminal cases using a content analysis research design. The implications of the study are discussed.

Author

• James Alexander Purdon, Texas A&M University-Commerce