Mincey v. Arizona
The Supreme Court Strikes Down an Unwarranted Search
On June 21, 1978, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down an unwarranted police search of a crime scene in the case of Mincey v. Arizona. Twenty-eight years later, lawyers for Charles W. Stewart, Shayne R. Taylor, and Sandra Taylor pointed to the Mincey case as evidence that the Brigham City [Utah] police entry into their home violated their Fourth Amendment rights. The following is excerpted from the Supreme Court’s Mincey decision:On the afternoon of October 28, 1974, undercover police officer Barry Headricks of the Metropolitan Area Narcotics Squad knocked on the door of an apartment in Tucson, Arizona, occupied by…
