VARIOUS PEOPLE WANT TO KNOW what I think about the Supreme Court’s decision in Hudson v. Michigan, the knock-and-announce case. Being on vacation, I haven’t read the opinions yet, just the SCOTUSBlog summary.

I think, though, that it’s defensible legally, but not morally. That is, it’s not much of a stretch from the existing caselaw, but it produces a rule that seems inconsistent with the original meaning of the constitution, and common sense.

However, the exclusionary rule is a lousy remedy for these kinds of things, since it doesn’t protect those innocent of any crime. (If you’re innocent, there’s nothing to exclude). I’d rather see a rule that disciplines officers for improper behavior without regard to the exclusion of evidence.

I don’t see the Supreme Court fixing this any time soon. Congress could limit officers’ ability to barge in without announcing themselves (by banning it, say, except where there’s a serious risk of danger to people’s lives) by legislation. I doubt it will, though. States could do the same, of course, as regards state law enforcement. I think that they should.

If the fourth amendment’s right to be secure against unreasonable searches means anything, it should mean that citizens shouldn’t be at risk for having their doors kicked down unannounced except in truly extraordinary circumstances — and it should mean that when that happens, those citizens should have a remedy against the offending officers for any misbehavior without the judicially-created, and constitutionally unrooted, barriers of official immunity and the like. If it were up to me, I’d make the officers strictly liable for any damages resulting from any misbehavior. But I think we’ll only see this sort of thing, or any remedy at all, if Congress acts. I don’t think the Supreme Court is likely to fix this mess any time soon.

For some other stuff, which I generally agree with, see Radley Balko here and here.