Lange v. California Oral Argument

The Supreme Court heard oral argument in Lange v. California, a Fourth Amendment case on whether an officer without a warrant has probable cause to enter a home while pursuing a misdemeanor suspect. In 2016, a California highway patrol officer followed Arthur Lange for an alleged noise infraction while driving. As Mr. Lange neared his home, the officer put on his lights, but Mr. Lange drove into his garage. The officer also entered, and Mr. Lange was later charged with driving while intoxicated. Mr. Lange’s legal team wanted his blood alcohol level results to be suppressed since the officer entered the garage without a warrant. The officer said he had probable cause to enter because Mr. Lange committed two misdemeanors when he did not pull over when the officer turned his police lights on.

The Court ruled 9-0 that police pursuit of someone for a misdemeanor does not automatically create the kind of emergency allowing an officer to follow the suspect into a home without a warrant. close