A warrant allowing police to search a house does not give them the authority to detain someone who is away from home at the time the search is being conducted, the U.S Supreme Court said on Tuesday.
Police investigating a drug case got a search warrant for an apartment on Long Island, New York, in 2005, after an informant claimed to have seen guns when he went there to buy drugs from a man known as "Polo." While detectives watched the apartment, waiting for the time of the search, they saw a man matching Polo's description drive away.
They followed the car for almost a mile, then pulled it over. In the man's pocket, they found a set of keys. They drove him back to the apartment, where officers found a gun and drugs in plain view. It was later discovered that one of the keys opened the door of the apartment.
