Foreword
When is an emergency situation so critical that police officers can respond by entering into a private home without a warrant? This was the question the U.S. Supreme Court considered last spring in the case of Brigham City v. Charles W. Stewart, et al.The case centers around a routine police response to a neighbor’s complaint about a loud party at 3 a.m. on July 23, 2000, in Brigham City, Utah. After four officers arrived on the scene, they observed several underage drinkers in the home’s backyard. They went into the yard and, through a window, saw a teenager being restrained…
