Illinois v. McArthur

Summary

The Court, in an opinion by Justice Breyer joined by Chief Justice Rehnquist and Justices O'Connor, Scalia, Kennedy, Souter, Thomas, and Ginsburg, held that police reasonably prevented McArthur from entering his home unaccompanied for approximately two hours while diligently obtaining a search warrant. The officers had probable cause, reasonably feared destruction of evidence, and imposed a limited restraint that accommodated privacy interests. The Court reversed and remanded. Justice Souter concurred separately, explaining that McArthur's departure reduced the exigency that could otherwise justify immediate entry and that the preference for warrants supported temporarily securing the premises. Justice Stevens dissented alone, preferring dismissal of certiorari as improvidently granted or, alternatively, affirmance because the minor offenses did not justify the intrusion on the home.