Opinion ID: 441742
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Exigent Circumstances Exception

Text: 49 Although a warrantless search and seizure in a home is presumed to be unreasonable, Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573, 586, 100 S.Ct. 1371, 1380, 63 L.Ed.2d 639 (1980), courts will uphold searches of homes based on both probable cause and exigent circumstances. Vale v. Louisiana, 399 U.S. 30, 90 S.Ct. 1969, 26 L.Ed.2d 409 (1970); Warden v. Hayden, 387 U.S. 294, 87 S.Ct. 1642, 18 L.Ed.2d 782 (1967). The existence of probable cause is not disputed. Callaway's statement that a shotgun was used in the murder, coupled with the discovery of bloodstained items in Satterfield's house, was sufficient for a reasonably cautious officer to believe that the shotgun was in the building. See United States v. Rojas, 671 F.2d 159, 165 (5th Cir. Unit B 1982). The presence of exigent circumstances, however, is not as obvious. The Government maintains that an immediate search for the shotgun was justified because the officers knew at least one other suspect was still at large and could return to Satterfield's home at any moment to retrieve the weapon, thus presenting a danger to their safety and the welfare of the community. Because only three policemen were present at the scene, two of whom were needed to transport appellant and Holcomb to the station, the Government asserts that it would have been difficult and dangerous for the remaining officer to secure the house against the other suspect for a period of several hours while a search warrant was being issued. 50 The exigent circumstances exception to the warrant requirement encompasses a variety of common situations, including hot pursuit of a suspect, United States v. Santana, 427 U.S. 38, 42-43, 96 S.Ct. 2406, 2409-2410, 49 L.Ed.2d 300 (1976); mobility of a vehicle, Chambers v. Maroney, 399 U.S. 42, 90 S.Ct. 1975, 26 L.Ed.2d 419 (1970); risk of removal or destruction of evidence, United States v. Rubin, 474 F.2d 262 (3d Cir.), cert. denied, 414 U.S. 833, 94 S.Ct. 173, 38 L.Ed.2d 68 (1973); and danger to arresting officers or the public, Warden v. Hayden, 387 U.S. 294, 87 S.Ct. 1642, 18 L.Ed.2d 782 (1967). Invoking the Hayden exception, as construed in United States v. Burgos, 720 F.2d 1520 (11th Cir.1983), and United States v. Quigley, 631 F.2d 415 (5th Cir.1980), the Government contends that an immediate search of Satterfield's house was justified because the delay involved in obtaining a warrant would have endangered the police or the public. We disagree. 51 The exigent circumstances doctrine applies only when the inevitable delay incident to obtaining a warrant must give way to an urgent need for immediate action. Burgos, 720 F.2d at 1526. In Hayden, the seizures occurred as part of an effort to find a suspected felon believed to be armed within a house into which he had run only minutes before police arrived. The officers gained entry to the home by permission of the suspect's mother and began searching the various rooms for the suspect and any weapons that might pose a danger to them. Simultaneously with the time the suspect was discovered and apprehended in an upstairs room, officers in other rooms were uncovering and seizing evidence later used at trial. The Court held that the search of the entire house was reasonably necessary to prevent the dangers that the suspect at large ... may resist or escape. 387 U.S. at 299, 87 S.Ct. at 1646. Quigley presented a similar situation. Pursuing an escaped felon, the police discovered the suspect in a motel room with his girlfriend and immediately placed him in handcuffs. Within forty-five seconds after the arrest, one of the officers found a pistol beneath the bed sheets. The former Fifth Circuit held the search was justified as a cursory safety check because the suspect was reasonably believed to be armed when he entered the motel room, and the girl in the room with him, who was unrestrained at the time, was reasonably believed to be his accomplice and could have gained access to any concealed weapons. 631 F.2d at 419. 52 Hayden and Quigley are distinguishable on two significant points. In both cases the police made the searches and seizures simultaneously with, or within seconds after, the defendants' arrest, whereas Satterfield and his girlfriend were taken into custody approximately ten minutes before the shotgun was found. More important, at the time of the searches in Hayden and Quigley, the police had reason to believe that dangerous weapons were accessible to the suspect or an accomplice who was present, or may have been present, in the building. In the instant case, Satterfield and Holcomb were restrained in patrol cars while the house was being searched; neither could possibly have posed a threat to the arresting officers. Moreover, the officers had already determined that no one else was present in the building. Under these circumstances, the search for the shotgun was not justified by exigency. 53 Burgos is distinguishable on similar grounds. Government agents in that case observed a man purchase two crates of firearms from two gun shops and transfer them to the trunk of Burgos' automobile. Burgos drove to his residence with the surveillance team following him. Together with another man, he then took the crates, which contained 45 guns, out of his trunk and into his house. As Burgos was exiting his home, three or four agents stopped him on the front porch, entered the house and seized the firearms. In upholding the seizure as lawful, the court found two critical facts creating exigent circumstances: (1) the agents were faced with a house laden with arms and an unknown number of people inside, thus presenting an immediate threat to the security of the entire neighborhood, and (2) they had reason to believe the house contained dangerous third persons who might pose a threat to their safety. 720 F.2d at 1526. Neither of these circumstances is present here. The police had no reason to believe that Satterfield's residence contained more than one firearm, and they knew that the only occupants of the house were already in police custody outside. 54 An arrest within a home does not provide a license for the police to search the entire residence for evidence. See Chimel v. California, 395 U.S. 752, 89 S.Ct. 2034, 23 L.Ed.2d 685 (1969); United States v. Cueto, 611 F.2d 1056, 1062 (5th Cir.1980). The test is whether the officers reasonably could have perceived that delay would endanger their lives or the lives of others. Hayden, 387 U.S. at 298-99, 87 S.Ct. at 1645-46. Under the facts presented here, it is clear that no immediate threat existed. The only potential danger emanated from Satterfield's unknown accomplices, who might have returned to the house to claim the shotgun without the knowledge of the police. Protection against this remote eventuality is not the type of circumstance that creates an urgent need for immediate action. If three officers were inadequate to transport the suspects to the station and also stand guard at Satterfield's house until a warrant was obtained, the police could have summoned additional support. See Segura v. United States, --- U.S. ----, 104 S.Ct. 3380, 3391, 82 L.Ed.2d 599 (1984) (police may conduct perimeter stakeout of home to prevent persons from obtaining evidence while search warrant is being issued). An immediate search of the house after all of the occupants had been taken into custody and removed from the building was not reasonably necessary to ensure the safety of the police officers or the area residents. We therefore hold that the search for the shotgun was not justified under the exigent circumstances exception to the warrant requirement.