Say you’re driving home from a restaurant, bar or friend’s house where you’ve had a couple of drinks (or more). You’re just blocks from your house when you see a police car in your rearview mirror.
If you continue home and pull into your garage, can the officer follow you and end up arresting you for drunk driving? That scenario is one that some people have faced, with subsequent convictions. But does that police tactic hold up on appeal?
The issue with an officer following someone onto their property unless they have a warrant or are in “hot pursuit” is that they may be violating their Fourth Amendment rights. Specifically, Americans have the right to protection against police entering their home without a warrant or permission, with a few exceptions.
A Supreme Court ruling
A case that made it all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) a few years ago produced a ruling that helps provide some clarity on the matter. A man appealed his conviction for drunk driving because he was arrested after police followed him into his garage. He claimed that his Fourth Amendment rights were violated.
In a unanimous decision, the justices agreed that the man’s conviction should be set aside. Writing for the court, Justice Elena Kagan said, “The need to pursue a misdemeanant does not trigger a categorical rule allowing home entry, even absent a law enforcement emergency. When the nature of the crime, the nature of the flight, and surrounding facts present no such exigency, officers must respect the sanctity of the home — which means that they must get a warrant.”
In what’s known as a “partial dissent,” Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito noted that police should be able to pursue someone who tries to flee. Roberts wrote, “It is the flight, not the underlying offense, that has always been understood to justify the general rule: ‘Police officers may enter premises without a warrant when they are in hot pursuit of a fleeing suspect.’”
Typically, it’s not wise to attempt to evade police for any reason or to assume that by going home, you’re protected from arrest. Fleeing the police can end very badly for people. At the very least, it can add another charge to whatever the original charge may have been. Nonetheless, if you believe that your rights were violated during an arrest, it’s important to get legal guidance as soon as possible.