Cite as: 526 U. S. 603 (1999)
Opinion of the Court
on a Marshals Service ride-along policy which explicitly contemplated media entry into private homes, and the sheriff's deputies had a ride-along program that did not expressly prohibit such entries. The state of the law was at best undeveloped at the relevant time, and the officers cannot have been expected to predict the future course of constitutional law. E. g., Procunier v. Navarette, 434 U. S. 555, 561. Pp. 614-618.
141 F. 3d 111, affirmed.
Rehnquist, C. J., delivered the opinion for a unanimous Court with respect to Parts I and II, and the opinion of the Court with respect to Part III, in which O'Connor, Scalia, Kennedy, Souter, Thomas, Ginsburg, and Breyer, JJ., joined. Stevens, J., filed an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part, post, p. 618.
Richard K. Willard argued the cause for petitioners. With him on the briefs were David H. Coburn, James S. Felt, Richard Seligman, Steven R. Shapiro, Arthur B. Spitzer, and Dwight H. Sullivan.
Lawrence P. Fletcher-Hill, Assistant Attorney General of Maryland, argued the cause for the state respondents. With him on the brief were J. Joseph Curran, Jr., Attorney General, Carmen M. Shepard, Deputy Attorney General, and Andrew H. Baida and John B. Howard, Jr., Assistant Attorneys General. Richard A. Cordray filed a brief for the federal respondents.*
Chief Justice Rehnquist delivered the opinion of the Court.
While executing an arrest warrant in a private home, police officers invited representatives of the media to accompany them. We hold that such a "media ride-along" does violate the Fourth Amendment, but that because the state
*A brief of amici curiae urging affirmance was filed for ABC, Inc., et al. by Lee Levine, James E. Grossberg, Jay Ward Brown, Henry S. Hoberman, Richard M. Schmidt, Jr., Susanna M. Lowy, Harold W. Fuson, Jr., Barbara Wartelle Wall, Ralph E. Goldberg, Karlene W. Goller, Jerry S. Birenz, Slade R. Metcalf, Jack N. Goodman, David S. J. Brown, René P. Milam, George Freeman, and Jane E. Kirtley.
605
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