Wilson Vs Arkansas Case Study

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The Fourth Amendment draws a line at the entrance of a home. In order for an officer to enter into a home, they must first obtain a warrant. While this is the easiest way to enter into a home, there are exceptions to the necessity of a warrant. An officer does not need a warrant when there is consent, it involves a vehicle, at incident to arrest, containers, or it is an emergency. This case is considered an emergency. This is an emergency because the woman was being beaten by her husband and could not defend herself. Officers also do not need to obtain a warrant under exigent circumstances. These circumstances include when a suspect is in hot pursuit, suspect is fleeing, imminent destruction of evidence, or the lives of officer or other people are in danger. In this case, the life of a person was in danger, which was the emergency that allowed the officers to enter into the house under the exceptions. When the officers arrived at the house/crime scene, they knocked and announced their presence. This is mandatory for all officers before entering a house and it was made a law in the case Wilson v Arkansas.

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