Searches Without Warrants

(New Orleans, Louisiana) In an 11-4 ruling, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals determined that police officers no longer need a search or arrest warrant to conduct a protective sweep of your home or business. The court's majority opinion (Docket No. 02-30629, dtd. 3/24/04) piggybacks onto a previous decision that allowed police to do protective searches on the basis of having an arrest warrant. Dissenting judges referred to it as the "Road to Hell."

Thanks to Zombyboy at Resurrection Song for pointing me to this story and I share in his disappointment in the decision. My concern is that it appears way too loosey-goosey, leaving society wide open to unwarranted searches. So, unless there's a reversal, chalk up another exception to what's left of the Fourth Amendment.