Also known as: hot pursuit exceptions · hot-pursuit exception · hot pursuit doctrine · fresh pursuit exception
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
An exception to the warrant requirement that permits officers who have probable cause to arrest a suspect in a public place to pursue the suspect into a private dwelling without a warrant. The doctrine authorizes both the entry and a search as broad as reasonably necessary to locate the suspect, prevent resistance, and secure weapons. Officers may seize evidence encountered during that search.
Deputies with probable cause approached Randy at the open gate of a roadside farm stand and announced his arrest for felony theft. Randy dropped a cash box and sprinted into a nearby farmhouse. The deputies immediately followed through the kitchen door, arrested Randy, and seized the cash box plus other items in plain view. The entry and seizure are lawful because the chase began in a public place and continued without interruption into the dwelling.
Agents with probable cause confronted Leo in the open lobby of a high-rise and identified themselves. Leo fled into his nearby condo unit. The agents followed within seconds, forced the door, arrested Leo, and seized records encountered while checking rooms and closets for Leo or weapons. The warrantless entry and limited search are justified by the unbroken pursuit that began in a public area.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
No. The exception requires a continuous and immediate chase of a fleeing suspect into a dwelling once officers have probable cause and see the suspect enter. Visual contact inside the dwelling is not necessary if officers saw the suspect enter and followed without significant delay.
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Yes. Once lawfully inside under the hot pursuit doctrine, officers may conduct a search as broad as reasonably necessary to locate the suspect and secure weapons. This includes opening containers where a person could hide or where firearms might be kept.
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Yes. The doctrine turns on probable cause to arrest in a public place and an immediate chase into a dwelling, not on whether the offense involved violence. Officers may still enter without a warrant to complete the arrest and conduct the attendant search.
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No. The hot pursuit doctrine itself supplies the authority for warrantless entry when officers are chasing a fleeing suspect from a public place. Consent is irrelevant once the exigency of immediate pursuit exists.
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…building clearly presents an exigency of sufficient proportions to render a warrantless entry ‘reasonable.’ ” And there is a hot pursuit exception to the warrant requirement as well. In United States v. Santana , 427 U. S. 38 (1976), and Warden, Md. Penitentiary v. Hayden , 387 U. S. 294 (1967), we recognized “the right of police,…