Michigan v. Fisher

558 U.S. 45 (2009)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Police officers responded to a complaint of a disturbance. Officer Goolsby and his partner approached the area, a couple directed them to a residence where a man was 'going crazy.' The officers found a household in considerable chaos: a pickup truck in the driveway with its front smashed, damaged fenceposts along the side of the property, and three broken house windows, the glass still on the ground outside. The officers also noticed blood on the hood of the pickup and on clothes inside of it, as well as on one of the doors to the house. Through a window, the officers could D inside the house, screaming and throwing things. The back door was locked, and a couch had been placed to block the front door. They knocked, but D refused to answer. They saw that D had a cut on his hand, and they asked him whether he needed medical attention. D demanded, with accompanying profanity, that the officers go to get a search warrant. Officer Goolsby then pushed the front door partway open and ventured into the house. Through the window of the open door, he saw D pointing a long gun at him. Officer Goolsby withdrew. D was with assault with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. The trial court concluded that Officer Goolsby violated the Fourth Amendment when he entered Fisher's house and granted D's motion to suppress the evidence obtained. The Court of Appeals then affirmed. The Michigan Supreme Court eventually denied leave to appeal. The Supreme Court granted certiorari.