I see that the case of Rhode Island citizen Edward Caniglia who had his home searched in 2015 without a warrant and his two lawfully owned firearms confiscated has reached the Supreme Court. I found the details of the case in the Rhode Island ACLU’s “friend of the court” brief (aclu.org) that they filed in support of Mr. Caniglia. What I am shocked about is that apparently the Biden Administration has also filed a brief but in support of the warrantless search and seizure and is asking the court to make this a precedent so that any American home can be entered, searched and lawfully owned firearms taken.
I know that we have attorneys who are members of this forum. I wonder if they could tell us if this is correct regarding the administration’s intentions?
Seems to me that this is a case about when can police enter a home without a warrant. The weapon could have just as easily been a butcher knife. Here is an account of it from the press---
"Just what sort of emergency allows police to enter your home without a warrant? That was the question before the U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday. The court's imagination seemed endless, as the justices presented hypotheticals that involved rescuing everything from screaming babies to cats in a tree to a water-logged Van Gogh painting.
The actual case before the court involved a heated argument between a long-married couple, Edward and Kim Caniglia. He brought out a gun and told her to shoot him to put him out of his "misery." Then after he left the house in a huff, she hid the gun, and spent the night in a motel. The next morning, unable to reach her husband, she asked police to escort her home because was afraid he might have harmed himself.
Police found the husband on the front porch, and sent him for a psychological evaluation. Later that day, doctors concluded he was not a threat to himself or others and released him. In the meantime, police had confiscated his guns and ammunition. So he sued, alleging an illegal seizure and search of his home."
