Wilson v. Arkansas (1994)
- Docket
- 94-5707
- Decided
- 1994-01-01
Summary
Question: Does the Fourth Amendment's reasonable search and seizure clause require police officers to knock and announce their presence before entering a private residence? Conclusion: Yes. A unanimous Court held that the common-law "knock-and announce" principle forms a part of the Fourth Amendment reasonableness inquiry. "Given the longstanding common-law endorsement of the practice of announcement, and the wealth of founding-era commentaries, constitutional provisions, statutes, and cases espousing or supporting the knock-and-announce principle,...the Amendment's Framers thought that whether officers announced their presence and authority before entering a dwelling was among the factors to be considered in assessing a search's reasonableness." Countervailing law enforcement interests, such as officer safety, may, however, establish the reasonableness of an unannounced entry.