Caniglia v. Strom

Here an argument between spouses over a coffee mug evolved into the husband suing the City of Cranston, Rhode Island, and multiple police officers for violation of his Fourth Amendment rights. Since the Court’s 1973 decision in Cady v. Dombrowski, law enforcement has sought to justify various noninvestigatory searches and seizures in the name of “community caretaking.” As these actions are not for criminal investigation purposes, police claim they are not subject to traditional Fourth Amendment requirements, such as warrants, probable cause, or reasonable suspicion. Although the Court’s grant of certiorari in this case presumes such an exception exists and merely asks the parties to address whether it applies to house searches, the case’s facts and the parties’ arguments may require the Court to address the broader question of whether there is indeed such a separate exception and what its scope is. Respondent Robert F. Strom is the finance director of the City of Cranston, Rhode Island, which itself is among the multiple defendants.

Classroom Case Study>>>

This classroom case study provides:

• background on the legal issues in the case;
• facts of the case;
• key legal definitions;
• argument summaries for the petitioner and respondent; and
• focus questions for fostering classroom discussion

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The classroom case study was modified from PREVIEW of United States Supreme Court Cases. It can be used for teacher reference and provides a more detailed look at the case.