Jasmine Thibodeaux
Case Study #2
Kirk v. Louisiana
I. In 1998, residents of a New Orleans neighborhood left tips for the New Orleans Police Department regarding drug activity. Detectives from the NOPD started surveillance on the apartment which belonged to Kennedy Kirk. During the surveillance of the apartment they witnessed four apparent drug transactions at Kirks residence. After one suspected buy they stopped the buyer that just left the apartment and found that he was in possession of crack cocaine. The detectives had probable cause and believed that evidence could be destroyed if they waited for a warrant. They decided to enter without seeking that warrant. Once inside the residence, they found crack cocaine, cocaine and cash on Kirk himself. No other drug paraphilia was located in the apartment.
Kirk was convicted of possession of cocaine with the intent to distribute. He believed his arrest was illegal and “police were not justified in entering his home without a warrant absent exigent circumstances” (Cornell University Law School, n.d.) and appealed to the higher court. The Louisiana Court of Appeal declined to determine if those circumstances existed because “the evidence required to prove that the defendant possessed cocaine with the intent to distribute, namely the cocaine and the money, was …show more content…
The Louisiana Supreme Court denied the review as well. Chief Justice Calogero, in a dissent said “The Fourth Amendment to the United States constitution has drawn a firm line at the entrance to the home, and thus, the police need both probable cause to either arrest or search and exigent circumstances to justify a nonconsensual warrantless intrusion into private premises… . Here, the defendant was arrested inside an apartment, without a warrant, and the state has not demonstrated that exigent circumstances were present. Consequently, defendant’s arrest was unconstitutional, and his motion to suppress should have been granted.” (Cornell University Law School,