Jay Stapleton reports:
The limits of privacy rights under the Fourth Amendment were the focus of two cases recent Connecticut Supreme Court decisions.
In once case, justices ruled that a warrantless police search of a house that turned up many neglected dogs was not illegal because a strong odor and other evidence outside the house indicated that “an emergency existed.” In another case, the court found that there was no expectation of privacy in the common area of a boarding house, allowing a conviction on weapons charges to stand.
Between the two cases, whose decisions were released April 14, “it was not a good day for the Fourth Amendment in Connecticut,” said Stamford solo attorney Lindy Urso. “Any time there is a warrantless intrusion into a home, it emboldens the police, and waters down the protection of the Fourth Amendment.”
Read more on Connecticut Law Tribune.