King Vs Kentucky

King Vs Kentucky

On May 16th of this year the supreme court decided on a ruling in the case of King vs. Kentucky.
Police followed a suspected drug dealer for numerous weeks and followed him into an apartment complex.   Once the officers arrived at the complex, they smelled marijuana coming from the apartment the drug dealer had entered.   Initially the police officers loudly announced their presence several times and banged on the apartment door.   The officers received no response from the apartment, however they did hear noises and what sounded like a toilet being flushed coming from the apartment.   (The officers believed this was the sound of the suspect destroying potential evidence.)   The officers then forced their way into the apartment, searched the premises, and uncovered large amounts of marijuana and other narcotics in the apartment.  
The ruling by the supreme court is that the officers did not violate the suspects fourth amendment’s rights, even without having a warrant.   In this decision, the supreme court ruled that if there is an enough probable cause, and police officers believe that evidence is being destroyed, they may enter the premises and their actions do not violate an individual’s fourth amendment rights.   This decision was important because it gave officers a broader scope into how they can legally conduct a search and obtain evidence.  
The defendants in this case argue that a warrantless search is unconstitutional and the officers had no probable cause to enter the premises.   By entering the premises, the defendant states that the officers violated his fourth amendment rights.
This will continue to be a question in everyone’s mind whenever they see an officer or whenever an officer approaches their door.   Will the officer enter the house or will he search the place if he believes that he has enough probable cause?   Most people are not doing illegal things, however they may feel this decision by the supreme court has violates their rights and may think of...