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A civil lawsuit which began here in Utah is about to be heard tomorrow before the United States Supreme Court.
The lawsuit involves the Fourth Amendment and a person's right to require police to obtain a warrant before searching his or her home. The high court's ruling could change how police searches are carried out in the future.
It's a complicated case, but it boils down to this question: If you allow someone into your home who turns out to be a police informant, have you, by inviting that person inside, consented to a search by the police?
The case involves a drug deal in Millard County back in 2002. A police informant went inside to buy drugs. After the deal was made, uniformed officers came in without a search warrant.
The criminal case against the suspect was eventually overturned on the basis that the search was unconstitutional, but then he sued the Millard County officers, claiming his civil rights had been violated in the search.
Now the Salt Lake attorney representing the officers, Peter Stirba, will make the argument on behalf of the officers before the Supreme Court.
"It's a very important case in terms of the operation of our government, and it affects all public officials. And I also think it's critical from the standpoint of effective law enforcement, and certainly it will have broad implications," Stirba said.
The case will also address if police officers have immunity from being sued in cases similar to this. A federal judge ruled yes, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals said no, and now the Supreme Court will get the final say.
Stirba said, "Whether or not in this particular case, even if there was a constitutional violation, was the law clearly established and if it wasn't, then the officers aren't entitled to qualified immunity."
Stirba has been gearing up for this case for months and is preparing for some tough questions from the nine justices.
He said, "I think it's fair to say that everybody who participates will get a very fine series of questions, a thorough grilling, and everybody's been preparing quite intensely."
While the arguments are made before the court tomorrow, a decision is not expected to be released until sometime in the spring.
E-mail: spenrod@ksl.com
