Get a Warrant, Supreme Court Tells Cops Who Seized Guns From Home Without Due Process

Reason ^ | 5.18.2021 9:30 AM | ELIZABETH NOLAN BROWN

[RandFan]

Warrantless seizure of guns from a home is not OK, the Supreme Court reminded police officers on Monday. This applies even if someone is undergoing treatment for mental health issues.

The case, Caniglia v. Strom, involved a domestic dispute between Edward Caniglia and his wife. "During an argument with his wife, petitioner Edward Caniglia placed a handgun on the dining room table and asked his wife to 'shoot [him] and get it over with.' His wife instead left the home and spent the night at a hotel. The next morning, she was unable to reach her husband by phone, so she called the police to request a welfare check," the Court explains in its summary. It goes on to explain that:

"The responding officers accompanied Caniglia's wife to the home, where they encountered Caniglia on the porch. The officers called an ambulance based on the belief that Caniglia posed a risk to himself or others. Caniglia agreed to go to the hospital for a psychiatric evaluation on the condition that the officers not confiscate his firearms. But once Caniglia left, the officers located and seized his weapons. Caniglia sued, claiming that the officers had entered his home and seized him and his firearms without a warrant in violation of the Fourth Amendment.

A federal district court sided with the cops who had seized Caniglia's guns without a warrant. And the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit affirmed this decision, saying that a "community caretaking exception" to warrant requirements made it OK. But the Supreme Court disagreed in a unanimous decision.

[Red Badger]

Seized Guns From Home Without Due Process

That used to be called 'theft'. I bet many of these guns are 'lost' in the system............................

[sausageseller]

They left out of the story , how the defendants wife would not let the police search their home but the police lied to her saying the defendant gave them permission.

[Bayard]

I think its possible, in my purely speculative thinking, that the SCOTUS will likely come out with several unanimous rulings for a few cases.

The reason for this is the strength of unanimity in the court.

[MercyFlush]

“That used to be called ‘theft’. I bet many of these guns are ‘lost’ in the system...”

Been a long time ago but I was once stopped out of state and the stop was just a pretext to illegally search me and my car. The scumbag stole my two Detonics .45 pistols in their case. Then when I made a claim to his department both he and they denied I’d ever been stopped.

Took a while to find out where the thief lived (pre-internet days) and when I did I recovered my pistols and several other fine items of interest from the thief.

Darn shame that his house burned down.

[Flaming Conservative]

Guns are not objects to be used to manipulate the emotions of one’s spouse. I’m glad the court ruled as they did, but the wife of this man needs to get away from him; he’s obviously manipulative nut. And she needs to take one of the guns with her, to protect herself from him.