THURMOND R. RUCKER, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Thurmond Rucker was convicted of obstructing an officer without violence after he struck a police officer who, without a warrant, attempted to enter his home in hot pursuit of a young driver. The court held that an officer lacks authority to break open a door to a private dwelling to arrest someone for a misdemeanor without a warrant, rendering the officer's entry unlawful and Rucker's resistance justified.
An officer is not authorized to break open a door in a private dwelling to make an arrest without a warrant for a misdemeanor. Therefore, the officer's entry into Rucker's home was unlawful, and Rucker's conviction for obstructing the officer must be reversed.
[1] A police officer may not break open the door of a private dwelling to make an arrest for a misdemeanor without a warrant.
[2] The "hot pursuit" exception to the warrant requirement does not permit an officer to enter a residence without a warrant to arrest a misdemeanant.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“An officer is not authorized to break open a door in a private dwelling in order to make an arrest without a warrant for a misdemeanor.”
Establishes the core legal rule that officers cannot forcibly enter homes without a warrant to arrest for misdemeanor offenses
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligencePolice Officer McLaughlin observed a young boy driving and pulled him over for a traffic violation. When the boy ran screaming into Rucker's house wit…
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HOBSON, Judge.
Thurmond R. Rucker has filed a petition for writ of certiorari to review the order of the circuit court affirming judgment and sentence of the county court, criminal division, for obstructing an officer without violence.
Police Officer McLaughlin observed an automobile being driven by a young boy who appeared to be below the legal age allowable for driving. The officer’s cruiser followed with its red lights flashing into Rucker’s driveway. McLaughlin informed the driver why he was stopped and asked to see his driver’s license, but the boy replied that he did not have it with him. When McLaughlin asked him his age, the boy began to scream profanities and ran into Rucker’s house. The officer pursued, intending to arrest the boy without a warrant for a traffic violation and disorderly conduct, both misdemeanors. As he reached the front door which had just closed behind the boy, the officer, without knocking or announcing his purpose, tried to open the door, and was struck by Ruck-er in the mid-section. A push and shove scuffle ensued on the front porch and Rucker told the officer, interspersed with a few obscenities, to get off his property. McLaughlin called for a back-up cruiser, and when it arrived Rucker was arrested and taken to the police station.
The trial court refused to direct a verdict of acquittal, and charged the jury, inter alia, that a police officer in hot pursuit of a person sought to be arrested may open a door of a residence into which the person pursued went.
An officer is not authorized to break open a door in a private dwelling in order to make an arrest without a warrant for a misdemeanor. § 901.19, F.S.; Prather v. State, Fla.App.2d 1966, 182 So. 2d 273. The exceptions recited in Benefield v. State, Fla.1964, 160 So. 2d 706, are not applicable to the arrest of a misdemeanant without a warrant.
Accordingly, certiorari is granted, the order of the circuit court affirming the county court’s judgment is quashed, and the cause is returned with instructions to remand to the trial court with directions to discharge the petitioner. McNULTY, C. J., and GRIMES, J., concur.
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Espiet v. State, 797 So. 2d 598 (Fla. 5th DCA 2001)…nder section 901.15, Florida Statutes (1979) to make a warrantless arrest for a felony. Under state law, there is simply no authority given to a police officer to enter a building to effect a warrantless arrest for a misdemeanor.”); Rucker v. State, 302 So. 2d 490, 491 (Fla. 2d DCA 1974) ("An officer is not authorized to break open a door in a private dwelling in order to make an arrest without a warrant for a misdemeanor.”); see also Benefield v. State, 160 So. 2d 706 (Fla. 1964). We note with interest that…
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Johnson v. State, 395 So. 2d 594 (Fla. 2d DCA 1981)…r under section 901.15, Florida Statutes (1979) to make a warrantless arrest for a felony. Under state law, there is simply no authority given to a police officer to enter a building to effect a warrantless arrest for a misdemeanor. Rucker v. State, 302 So. 2d 490 (Fla. 2d DCA 1974); Prather v. State, 182 So. 2d 273 (Fla. 2d DCA 1966); see Benefield v. State, 160 So. 2d 706 (Fla.1964). Furthermore, Benefield made it crystal clear that the limitations on an officer’s authority contained in section 901.19 are t…
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Gasset v. State, 490 So. 2d 97 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986)…n’s Fourth Amendment rights when they entered his enclosed yard and arrested him on his back porch); see also Payton (Fourth Amendment protects individual’s privacy when individual within unambiguous physical dimension of his home); Rucker v. State, 302 So. 2d 490 (Fla. 2d DCA 1974) (court invalidated war-rantless police entry into home to arrest youth who had committed traffic infraction).…
Previewing 3 of 9 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Benefield v. State, 160 So. 2d 706 (Fla. 1964)
- Wright v. State, 182 So. 2d 273 (Fla. 3d DCA 1966)
- Prather v. State, 182 So. 2d 273 (Fla. 2d DCA 1966)