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ID: Exigent circumstance was not apparent, but apparent authority for consent was

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

There were no exigent circumstances for entry into the house during a domestic disturbance call where the only possible justification was that the female was being held against her will, but that was disproved by the fact the defendant was outside talking to the officers. Defendant's wife had apparent authority to consent to an entry, and she did. State v. Reynolds, 2008 Ida. App. LEXIS 84 (July 14, 2008). Being in a high crime area at 4 a.m. was suspicious, and officers were responding to a nonspecific 911 call about people with a blue Cadillac. While defendant could have ignored the officers' inquiries for information, the movement of his hands could have been a movement for a gun, and that justified the stop on the totality of the circumstances...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on July 16, 2008 (boomark / email).