Court Opinion

ID: 9672879
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 04:02:13.075585+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:16:18.895813
License: Public Domain

SEILER, Judge
(dissenting).
I concur with Judge FINCH’s dissent that the entry of the Sutton house and the ensuing search and seizure cannot be justified under the facts before us on the basis of emergency, and that the case should be reversed and remanded.
However, I am dubious about the need for adopting what is referred to as an exigency or emergency rule, without which we so far seem to have gotten along all right in Missouri. There never has been any doubt that a policeman or fireman is privileged to enter private premises in the *495discharge of his public duty, Anderson v. Cinnamon, banc, 365 Mo. 304, 282 S.W.2d 445, 55 A.L.R.2d 516; 65 C.J.S. Negligence § 63(111), p. 866. I see no connection between the law of search warrants and the law permitting a policeman to enter a private dwelling in certain emergencies. I do not believe the latter need diminish the right of individuals to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures in their homes. I am skeptical of what letting down the bars against war-rantless searches and seizures will lead to. It would be too easy for the emergency situation to become the routine.