It's been a long, long time since the Supreme Court heard argument in a real Fourth Amendment case. This Wednesday, the Court will finally break the spell with argument in Case v. Montana. I thought I would offer some thoughts on it. (Full disclosure: I have consulted with the lawyers for the petitioner in the case, although the thoughts here are my own.)

Here's the context. In Brigham City v. Stuart (2006), officers entered a home to break up a fight in which one person was being badly beaten in view of the officer from outside. The Court ruled that an "objectively reasonable basis for believing that an occupant is seriously injured or imminently threatened with such injury" allows a warrantless entry into the home. In such circumstances, the thinking runs, there is a strong and immediat

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