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Welfare check and warrantless entry into defendant's home was justified by his being missing

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Welfare check on defendant and entry into his house was justified because he hadn't been heard from at work and he wasn't answering his telephone. State v. Junk, 2008 Ohio 1564, 2008 Ohio App. LEXIS 1335 (6th Dist. March 31, 2008): [*P25] Appellant also argues that an emergency exception did not apply because the police officers entered the residence pursuant to a "welfare check" instead of in response to an emergency. According to police testimony, the officers initially drove to appellant's residence to conduct a welfare check. The officers based the check on appellant's unexplained absence from work, the collective inability of appellant's supervisor and the police and sheriffs departments to reach appellant by phone, and a potentially serious work-related injury...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on April 05, 2008 (boomark / email).