{"id":7591,"date":"2023-10-27T15:52:39","date_gmt":"2023-10-27T15:52:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/portal.bluetogold.com\/?p=7591"},"modified":"2026-09-17T06:14:26","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T13:14:26","slug":"body-snatching","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/portal.bluetogold.com\/?p=7591","title":{"rendered":"Body Snatching"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here is the question:\u00a0 Can an officer reach slightly into a person’s home to pull them out and arrest them?<\/strong><\/p>\n

If an officer has probable cause<\/a>, but no arrest warrant<\/a>, and the person opens up the door, they’re talking to the officer, and the suspect is just an inch inside his house, would it be a constitutional violation to reach in there and actually pull this guy out with just the probable cause alone? (With no consent, no exigency and no arrest warrant?)<\/p>\n

Where is the line between inside and outside a home?<\/h2>\n

Well, to answer that question, let’s go over a few cases. Number One: We do know that the threshold of a house is the bright line rule of where a person can be arrested.\u00a0 Under Supreme Court precedents, this case is called U.S. v. Santana. And Santana was standing in her doorway when she was placed under arrest.\u00a0 She ran into her house, the cops followed, and they arrested her.\u00a0 Evidence was found during the arrest.\u00a0 The Supreme Court basically held that the threshold is the demarcation line.\u00a0 One foot forward, Santana’s on the porch, one foot back, she’s inside the house.\u00a0 So if you’re in the doorframe, which is called the threshold, then the person can be arrested under the Fourth Amendment.\u00a0 Now, we don’t have any cases from the US Supreme Court about pulling people out of their home. But we do have some cases about related issues involving the home.\u00a0 It’s very clear that the US Supreme Court would not uphold any intrusion into the home to pull somebody out to arrest them unless you had an arrest warrant, exigency, or their consent.<\/p>\n

Can police reach through a doorway to pull someone out?<\/h2>\n

Number Two: There is a case from the 11th circuit 2007.\u00a0 What the court has said here is that there was an officer standing on the porch. And he reached into the suspect\u2019s residence and pulled him out of the doorway and arrested him.\u00a0 Now, the suspect says that he was behind the threshold of the door, completely in his residence.\u00a0 The court found that going into his home and pulling him out violated the Fourth Amendment, because he didn’t have a warrant, consent, or exigent circumstances.\u00a0 They also cited a US Supreme Court case called Kyllo.<\/p>\n

Kyllo is a case involving the use of heat thermal imaging on a home.\u00a0 They found that it also violated the Fourth Amendment.\u00a0 And they found in that court, that unless a warrant is obtained, or there\u2019s exigency, consent and so forth, any physical invasion of the home by even a fraction of an inch is too much.<\/p>\n

Do you need a warrant to arrest someone standing just inside their door?<\/h2>\n

Now, here is the answer to the question:\u00a0 NO!\u00a0 Unless a warrant is obtained or there\u2019s exigency or consent, any physical invasion of the structure of the home by even a fraction of an inch is too much.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

That\u2019s the spirit of Santana.\u00a0 If the majority of their body is still in their home, go get the warrant, try to get their consent, or go in there with exigent circumstances if you have them.<\/p>\n

What counts as exigent circumstances to enter a home and arrest?<\/h2>\n

Exigent circumstances include things like; if you leave and go get a warrant, you’ll come back and the guy will be gone.\u00a0 He’ll escape.\u00a0 Or, the person could be violent or a danger to somebody else inside the home.\u00a0 Also evidence could be destroyed; they might have evidence on their person, clothes, or inside the home. Those are the kinds of things you\u2019re looking for.\u00a0 If you have that, I think you’re going to be fine. If not, follow the rules!<\/p>\n

You don’t want to play fast and loose with the fourth amendment and be on the bad side of case law.\u00a0 Don\u2019t \u201cbody snatch\u201d people out of their homes.\u00a0 It’s the most protected area under the Fourth Amendment!<\/p>\n

Related from Blue to Gold<\/h2>\n