Case v. Montana · ¶18

Finally, in Caniglia, we reaffirmed Brigham City even as we rejected a broader “community caretaking” justification for warrantless home entries. The police had gone to Edward Caniglia's home after his wife reported that he was suicidal. Caniglia spoke with the officers on his front porch and agreed to go to a hospital for psychiatric testing. Then, once he had left, the officers went inside and took away two handguns he owned. The lower courts approved the entry on the ground that the officers were performing “community caretaking functions.” 593 U. S., at 196. But we declined to recognize such an “open-ended license” for law enforcement officers to enter private homes. Id., at 199. Citing Brigham City, we readily acknowledged that officers may enter a home to “render emergency assistance to an injured occupant or to protect an occupant from imminent injury.” 593 U. S., at 198. But…

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