June Harper v. Arthur Leahy, et al.

According to Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573 (1980), “an arrest warrant founded on probable cause implicitly carries with it the limited authority to enter a dwelling in which the suspect lives when there is reason to believe the suspect is within.” Id. at 603 (emphasis added). The lower courts are intractably divided over the meaning of Payton’s “reason to believe” standard. Whereas three circuits and five state high courts have held that the standard requires only “reasonable suspicion” that the suspect is within, two circuits and two state supreme courts have held that it requires “probable cause” to believe that the suspect is within. The difference between the two standards is substantial and often determines the legality of the entry. It therefore often dictates (in criminal proceedings) the admissibility of evidence subsequently found in the home or (in civil proceedings) the plaintiff’s entitlement to damages under Section 1983. The question presented is: Does the Fourth Amendment require police officers to have probable cause to believe that a suspect is present in a home before forcing entry into that home to execute an arrest warrant for the suspect?