620
Opinion of Stevens, J.
home and the American colonists' hatred of the general warrant.
The contours of the rule are fairly described by the Court, ante, at 609-611 of its opinion, and in the cases that it cites on those pages. All of those cases were decided before 1992. None of those cases—nor, indeed, any other of which I am aware—identified any exception to the rule of law that the Court repeats today. In fact, the Court's opinion fails to identify a colorable rationale for any such exception. Respondents' position on the merits consisted entirely of their unpersuasive factual submission that the presence of representatives of the news media served various legitimate— albeit nebulous—law enforcement purposes. The Court's cogent rejection of those post hoc rationalizations cannot be characterized as the announcement of a new rule of law.
During my service on the Court, I have heard lawyers argue scores of cases raising Fourth Amendment issues. Generally speaking, the Members of the Court have been sensitive to the needs of the law enforcement community. In virtually all of them at least one Justice thought that the police conduct was reasonable. In fact, in only a handful did the Court unanimously find a Fourth Amendment violation. That the Court today speaks with a single voice on the merits of the constitutional question is unusual and certainly lends support to the notion that the question is indeed "open and shut." Ante, at 615.
But the more important basis for my opinion is that it should have been perfectly obvious to the officers that their "invitation to the media exceeded the scope of the search authorized by the warrant." Ibid. Despite reaffirming that clear rule, the Court nonetheless finds that the mere presence of a warrant rendered the officers' conduct reasonable. The Court fails to cite a single case that even arguably supports the proposition that using official power to enable news photographers and reporters to enter a private home for purposes unrelated to the execution of a warrant could
Page: Index Previous 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007