Exigent Circumstances
Emergency situations justifying warrantless entry or search, such as imminent destruction of evidence, hot pursuit, or threats to life.
Exigent circumstances are emergency situations — such as the imminent destruction of evidence, a suspect in hot pursuit, or an immediate threat to someone’s life — that let police search or enter a home without first getting a warrant.
What Counts as an Exigent Circumstance?
Courts recognize a narrow set of emergencies: imminent destruction of evidence, hot pursuit of a fleeing suspect, and threats to life that require immediate action. Police must be able to point to specific facts showing the emergency was real, not just convenient.
How Is Hot Pursuit Different From Exigent Circumstances?
Hot pursuit is one specific type of exigent circumstance: it permits a warrantless entry to capture a fleeing suspect who has retreated into private premises, rather than covering emergencies generally.
Key Facts
- Exigent circumstances justify a warrantless entry or search for emergencies such as imminent destruction of evidence, hot pursuit, or threats to life.
- Hot pursuit is an exigent-circumstances exception permitting warrantless entry to capture a fleeing suspect who has retreated into private premises.
- The emergency aid exception is a related exigent-circumstances doctrine allowing warrantless entry when officers reasonably believe someone inside needs immediate medical or protective aid.
- A no-knock warrant is a separate concept — a search warrant authorizing entry without first announcing presence — unlike exigent circumstances, which require no warrant at all.
Encyclopedia entry: Exigent Circumstances
This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Learn more
Got it!
exigent circumstances
Overview
Exigent circumstances, as defined in United States v. McConney are "circumstances that would cause a reasonable person to believe that entry (or other relevant prompt action) was necessary to prevent physical harm to the officers or other persons, the destruction of relevant evidence, the escape of the suspect, or some other consequence improperly frustrating legitimate law enforcement efforts."
Application
Exigent circumstances are essentially exceptions to the general requirement of a warrant under the Fourth Amendment searches and seizures .
In Missouri v. McNeely (2013), the Supreme Court clarified, "A variety of circumstances may give rise to an exigency sufficient to justify a warrantless search, including law enforcement's need to provide emergency assistance to an occupant of a home . . . engage in “hot pursuit” of a fleeing suspect . . . or enter a burning building to put out a fire and investigate its cause."
Courts will typically look at the time when the officer makes the warrantless search or seizure to evaluate whether at that point in time a reasonable officer at the scene would believe it is urgent to act and impractical to secure a warrant . Courts may also consider whether the facts suggested that the suspect was armed and planning to escape, whether a reasonable police officer would believe their safety or others’ safety was threatened, and whether there was a serious crime involved.
Exigent circumstances may also occur when the police is in hot pursuit of a suspect who is possibly involved in criminal activities and in the process of fleeing. (See Michigan v. Fisher, 558 U.S. 45 (2009) )
Further Reading
For more on exigent circumstances, see this Hofstra Law Review note , and this Missouri Law Review article.
Illustrative Cases
See e.g., P_eople v. Smith, 46 Cal. App.5th 375 (Cal. Ct. App. 2020)_ ; and United States v. Ackerman, 831 F.3d 1292 (10th Cir. 2016) .
[Last reviewed in December of 2022 by the Wex Definitions Team
]
Keywords
Wex
Encyclopedia content from Cornell LII Wex (CC-BY-NC-SA 2.5).
Related terms
More legal terms starting with E
Looking for citation help? How to cite law · Citation methodology
See also: Full glossary index
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.