Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/boundvolumes/558bv.pdf
Page Number: 206

OCTOBER  TERM,  2009 

45 

Per  Curiam 

MICHIGAN  v.  FISHER 

on  petition  for  writ  of  certiorari  to  the  court  of 
appeals of michigan 

No. 09–91.  Decided December 7, 2009 

Fisher was charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and possession 
of  a  ﬁrearm  during  the  commission of  a  felony.  Police  responding  to  a 
domestic disturbance at respondent Fisher’s house found damaged prop­
erty  and  blood  at  the  scene,  observed  Fisher  screaming  and  throwing 
things  inside  the  house,  and  saw  that  his  hand  was  cut.  When  Fisher 
refused  to  open  the  door  or  tell  ofﬁcers  whether  he  needed  medical  at­
tention, Ofﬁcer Goolsby entered the house, where he found Fisher point­
ing a riﬂe at him.  But the trial court suppressed Goolsby’s statement, 
ruling that the ofﬁcer had violated the Fourth Amendment by entering 
the house without a warrant.  The Michigan Court of Appeals afﬁrmed. 
Held:  Goolsby’s entry into the house was lawful under the emergency aid 
exception to the warrant requirement, which applies where ofﬁcers have 
“an  objectively  reasonable  basis  for  believing”  that  medical  assistance 
is needed  or persons are in  danger.  Brigham City v.  Stuart,  547 U. S. 
398, 406.  Here, it was reasonable to believe that Fisher had hurt him­
self and needed treatment or that he was about to hurt, or had already 
hurt, someone else. 

Certiorari granted; reversed and remanded. 

Per Curiam. 
Police  ofﬁcers  responded  to  a  complaint  of  a  disturbance 
near  Allen  Road  in Brownstown,  Michigan.*  Ofﬁcer  Chris­
topher Goolsby later testiﬁed that, as he and his partner ap­
proached  the  area,  a  couple  directed  them  to  a  residence 
where  a  man  was  “going  crazy.”  Docket  No.  276439,  2008 
WL  786515, *1  (Mich. App.,  Mar. 25,  2008) (per  curiam) (al­
teration and internal quotation marks omitted).  Upon their 
arrival, the ofﬁcers found a household in considerable chaos: 
a pickup truck in the driveway with its front smashed, dam­
aged  fenceposts  along  the  side  of  the  property,  and  three 

*We  have  taken  the  facts  from  the  opinion  of  the  Michigan  Court  of 

Appeals.  Except where indicated, the parties do not dispute the facts.