United States v. Lucas
499 F.3d 769 · Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit · 2007
Facts
Tylan Lucas escaped from the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services while serving a sentence for drug possession and felonious assault. Harold Clarke, Director of the Department, issued an administrative 'Warrant of Arrest (for Escaped Prisoner)' based on statutory authority and reasonable cause. Omaha police received a Crime Stoppers tip that Lucas was staying at 2316 Ogden Street apartment 1, and the tipster reported seeing Lucas there within 48 hours. Officers went to the apartment, and after the tenant, Theresa Scaife, initially denied Lucas was present, they stated they had an arrest warrant for Lucas and intended to enter. Scaife then admitted Lucas was inside. Officers entered, found Lucas in the basement, and arrested him. While dressing Lucas, an officer found $2,900 cash, crack cocaine, and marijuana in pants Lucas claimed were his. Scaife later consented to a search, which yielded a stolen Ruger revolver and more marijuana.
Procedural history
Lucas was convicted of drug and firearm offenses, attempted obstruction of justice, and one forfeiture count, and sentenced to 25 years. He appealed, and a panel of this court reversed, holding the district court should have granted his motion to suppress. The government's petition for rehearing en banc was granted, and the panel opinion was vacated. This court, sitting en banc, now affirms the district court's judgment.
Issue
Did the officers' entry into a third-party apartment to arrest an escaped prisoner, based on an administrative arrest warrant issued by an executive officer rather than a neutral and detached magistrate, violate the Fourth Amendment?
Holding
No, the officers' entry into the apartment did not violate the Fourth Amendment because the administrative arrest warrant was valid, and Lucas, as an escapee, had a minimal expectation of privacy.
Rule
The Fourth Amendment's requirement for a warrant issued by a neutral and detached magistrate applies to routine felony arrests or to determine probable cause for a crime, but not to administrative arrest warrants for recapturing an already convicted and escaped inmate. For administrative warrants, the standard is 'reasonableness,' balancing the government's need to arrest against the invasion. An escapee has a significantly diminished expectation of privacy, similar to a probationer or parolee. Thus, an administrative warrant issued by a responsible state official with statutory authority and reasonable cause to believe an inmate has escaped is sufficient to authorize entry into a third party's residence to apprehend the escapee, provided officers have reason to believe the escapee is present.
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