State of Florida, Petitioner v. Christopher Markus, Respondent

Summary

The court held that the hot-pursuit exception did not justify officers’ warrantless entry into Markus’s home, search, and arrest when the suspected offense was a nonviolent misdemeanor and the related evidence was outside the home. Applying a totality-of-the-circumstances analysis, the court concluded that Markus posed no danger, the alleged marijuana cigarette could have been retrieved without entering the home, and no evidence was at risk of imminent destruction. The court approved reversal of the suppression ruling and conviction and disapproved contrary precedent to the extent it treated any jailable misdemeanor as sufficient for hot pursuit. Canady, J., dissenting, would have held that hot pursuit applies when a lawful public-place arrest is initiated and the suspect flees into a private place, regardless of whether the offense is a misdemeanor.