Task: songer_typeiss

What follows is an opinion from a United States Court of Appeals.
Your task is to determine the general category of issues discussed in the opinion of the court. Choose among the following categories. Criminal and prisioner petitions- includes appeals of conviction, petitions for post conviction relief, habeas corpus petitions, and other prisoner petitions which challenge the validity of the conviction or the sentence or the validity of continued confinement. Civil - Government - these will include appeals from administrative agencies (e.g., OSHA,FDA), the decisions of administrative law judges, or the decisions of independent regulatory agencies (e.g., NLRB, FCC,SEC). The focus in administrative law is usually on procedural principles that apply to administrative agencies as they affect private interests, primarily through rulemaking and adjudication. Tort actions against the government, including petitions by prisoners which challenge the conditions of their confinement or which seek damages for torts committed by prion officials or by police fit in this category. In addition, this category will include suits over taxes and claims for benefits from government. Diversity of Citizenship - civil cases involving disputes between citizens of different states (remember that businesses have state citizenship). These cases will always involve the application of state or local law. If the case is centrally concerned with the application or interpretation of federal law then it is not a diversity case. Civil Disputes - Private - includes all civil cases that do not fit in any of the above categories. The opposing litigants will be individuals, businesses or groups.

PER CURIAM:
Alejandro Garcia Mendez was convicted by the court on a one count indictment charging him with knowingly, willfully, and unlawfully purchasing, selling, and dispensing heroin not in or from the original stamped package, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 4704(a). He was sentenced to serve eight years in the custody of the Attorney General. We affirm.
Early on the morning of September 4, 1969, federal and state officers arrived at 138 Darson Marie Street, San Antonio, Texas, for the purpose of executing a search warrant. As they surrounded the house, one of the officers peered through a bedroom window and discovered the defendant Mendez asleep on the ‘bed with an automatic revolver inches away from his hand. While the officer at the window kept his drawn pistol trained on Mendez, the other officers forcibly entered the house and seized Mendez as he awoke. A search of the house disclosed a substantial quantity of heroin in unstamped containers, which the Government introduced as evidence at Mendez’s trial.
Mendez’s sole contention on appeal is that by forcibly entering his house without knocking or announcing their purpose, the arresting officers violated 18 U.S.C. § 3109 and that the district court therefore erred in denying his motion to suppress the evidence found inside the house. The Government, on the other hand, argues that “exigent circumstances” existed to justify the officers’ lack of compliance with the announcement rule. Cf. Miller v. United States, 1958, 357 U.S. 301, 309, 78 S.Ct. 1190, 2 L.Ed.2d 1332, 1338.
Although the Supreme Court generally requires strict compliance with the unqualified terms of the “knock and announce” statute, it recognizes exceptions to the rule. See Sabbath v. United States, 1968, 391 U.S. 585, 88 S.Ct. 1755, 20 L.Ed.2d 828; Ker v. California, 1963, 374 U.S. 23, 83 S.Ct. 1623, 10 L.Ed.2d 726. Similarly the Ninth Circuit has held — on facts strikingly similar to the facts this case presents — that federal officers may dispense with the requirement of a prior announcement “where to require it would create palpable peril to the life and limb of the arresting officers.” Gilbert v. United States, 9 Cir. 1966, 366 F.2d 923, 932. See also Blakey, The Rule of Announcement and Unlawful Entry, 112 U.Pa.L.Rev. 499, 542-543 (1964). In view of the drawn weapon lying within the reach of the defendant a prior announcement might well have endangered not only the arresting officers but also the defendant himself.
On the authority of Sabbath and Gilbert, we hold that in the limited circumstances of this case the arresting officers were justified in failing to comply with the terms of the statute.
The judgment of the district court is affirmed.
. § 3109. Breaking doors or windows for entry or exit.
The officer may break open any outer or inner door or window of a house, or any part of a house, or anything therein, to execute a search warrant, if, after notice of his authority and purpose, he is refused admittance or when necessary to liberate himself or a person aiding him in the execution of the warrant.

Question: What is the general category of issues discussed in the opinion of the court?
A. criminal and prisoner petitions
B. civil - government
C. diversity of citizenship
D. civil - private
E. other, not applicable
F. not ascertained
Answer:

Answer: A