Is the 4th Amendment at risk?

Varun Mekala

The 2025 Supreme Court case of Case v. Montana (450 U.S. 544), concerning William Trevor Case, is a recent examination of the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable searches and seizures. At its core, the dispute focused on the standard police must meet to justify a warrantless entry into a private residence under the "emergency aid" exception. The case originated when police in Anaconda, Montana, responded to an urgent call regarding a man threatening suicide and officers, eventually entering his home without a warrant after observing certain conditions and waiting approximately 40 minutes outside. The subsequent use of evidence obtained during this entry led to Case's conviction for assaulting an officer, which was upheld by the Montana Supreme Court based on a standard of "reasonable suspicion" of an emergency.

The legal and professional controversy centered on whether the sanctity of the home requires police to possess probable cause of an emergency before a warrantless entry, or if a lower threshold is permissible. Historically, the warrant requirement for home entry is considered paramount, with exceptions like "exigent circumstances" being drawn. Proponents for the lower "reasonable suspicion" standard argued that a probable cause requirement would fatally delay crucial emergency assistance, forcing officers to prioritize legal calculus over life-saving intervention in a crisis. Conversely, opponents argued that lowering the standard invites unnecessary police action, undermining fundamental privacy rights and potentially escalating non-criminal situations into dangerous confrontations, as was tragically illustrated by the shooting in this case.

The Supreme Court’s decision will ultimately clarify the scope of the emergency aid exception. I expect the case to end 6-3 in favor of Montana. I believe the majority will be Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett, and the dissent will be Justices Sotomayor, Kagan, and Jackson.