Opinion ID: 789163
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Arrest of Plaintiffs

Text: 25 Plaintiffs assert that their arrests violated the Constitution. Their first argument in support of this claim is that the officers entered their home pursuant to an invalid search warrant. But as we have already explained, the warrant was valid. Second, plaintiffs contend that an officer may arrest a suspect in her home only while executing a valid arrest warrant. Because the police held a search warrant rather than an arrest warrant, plaintiffs claim their arrest was unlawful. 26 In Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573, 100 S.Ct. 1371, 63 L.Ed.2d 639 (1980), the Supreme Court held that the Fourth Amendment prohibits the police from making a warrantless and nonconsensual entry into a suspect's home in order to make a routine felony arrest. Id. at 576, 100 S.Ct. 1371. It went on to note that an arrest warrant founded on probable cause implicitly carries with it the limited authority to enter a dwelling in which the suspect lives when there is reason to believe the suspect is within. Id. at 603, 100 S.Ct. 1371. Payton did not hold, however, that an arrest warrant is the exclusive basis upon which police may arrest a suspect in her home. The Court noted that an arrest warrant would suffice in response to an argument raised by the government that requiring a search warrant under those circumstances would impose an unreasonable burden upon law enforcement. Id. at 602, 100 S.Ct. 1371. If anything, Payton suggests that officers in possession of a search warrant have gone above and beyond what the Fourth Amendment requires before they may arrest a resident in her home. Several of our fellow Circuits have read Payton this way, finding a search warrant sufficient in these circumstances. See United States v. Winchenbach, 197 F.3d 548, 553 (1st Cir.1999) (police may arrest an individual in her home without an arrest warrant as long as they are lawfully on the premises (by reason, say, of a search warrant) and probable cause exists); Mahlberg v. Mentzer, 968 F.2d 772, 775 (8th Cir.1992); Jones v. City of Denver, 854 F.2d 1206, 1209 (10th Cir.1988). See also Faulkner v. State, 156 Md.App. 615, 847 A.2d 1216, 1231 n. 4 (2004) (collecting cases); 3 Wayne R. LaFave, Search & Seizure: A Treatise on the Fourth Amendment § 6.1(c) (3d ed.1996). We agree with the reasoning of these authorities and hold that police executing a valid search warrant may arrest a resident found within the permissible scope of that search if the officers have probable cause to believe that the resident has committed a crime. Cf. United States v. Price, 888 F.2d 1206, 1209 (7th Cir.1989) (implicitly recognizing this principle). Moreover, the evidence known to the police when they applied for the warrant also gave them probable cause to believe that both Russell and Davis were committing theft. Defendants therefore were justified in arresting plaintiffs when they found them at home at the time of the search.