BREAKING: SCOTUS Decision Weakens 4th Amendment Protections [View all]

[cali]

Last edited Tue Feb 25, 2014, 02:07 PM - Edit history (1)

WASHINGTON -- A divided Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that police do not need a warrant to search an apartment when the objecting tenant isn't home -- even if they are the ones who removed him.

The 6-3 verdict left the three female justices on the court objecting despite the wishes of "an abused woman" who invited police in to seek evidence from an earlier, violent robbery.

Justice Samuel Alito wrote the opinion for the court's conservative majority, joined by Justice Stephen Breyer. While co-tenants of an apartment usually must agree to a warrantless search, he said, one tenant's absence frees the other to make the decision.

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Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg argued in dissent that Fernandez' objection to the search -- first raised while he was still inside -- requires police to get a warrant. She was joined by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.

"Instead of adhering to the warrant requirement, today's decision tells the police they may dodge it, nevermind ample time to secure the approval of a neutral magistrate," Ginsburg wrote. "The specter of domestic abuse hardly necessitates the diminution of the Fourth Amendment rights at stake here."

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http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/02/25/supreme-court-warrant-search-tenants-robbery/5807041/

This is a dangerous decision that will be badly abused by law enforcement.

The Case is Fernandez v. California

http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/13pdf/12-7822_he4l.pdf