Florida
Florida Supreme Court reverses rule on knock-and-announce evidence
The Florida Supreme Court is reversing legal precedent that previously required judges to throw out evidence collected by police, when they don’t knock and announce themselves.
Typically, when police conduct a raid with a search warrant without giving residents enough time to answer the door, the evidence gathered is not allowed in court.
The Justices overturned that procedure in a 6-1 ruling.
Justice Meredith Sasso wrote for the majority that Florida’s knock-and-announce statute does not give judges the authority to suppress that evidence.
The ruling stems from a investigation out of Leon County. State and local police obtained a search warrant for a residence connected to a suspected trafficking organization. During the raid, police knocked and announced themselves several times, but only said they had a search warrant moments before barreling through the door.
As the case moved along, a judge ruled to suppress evidence found during that raid.
That decision was appealed and the case made its way up to the state’s Supreme Court.