STATE HIGH COURT CHANGES RULES FOR LEGAL SEARCH

Ruling on a case involving Richmond authorities, the state Supreme Court
said yesterday that police who find the door of a house open and see clutter
inside can enter and seize any contraband they find in plain sight.

Six justices agreed that the officers didn't need a search warrant, but only
three voted to recognize a new legal rationale for a home search: "community
caretaking," a security check to "find out what is going on" when there are
signs of a possible break-in but no apparent emergency.

The ruling stemmed from a case in Richmond when police were called to a home
on Christmas Day 1996 by a neighbor, who said the door had been open all day
and it was a shambles inside. When officers arrived, they saw the door about
two feet open and could see clothing and paper strewn on the floor, as if
the house had been ransacked.

After getting no response from inside, they entered, searched the rooms and
found a large amount of cash and over 20 pounds of suspected cocaine in
plain view, the court said. Defendant Andre L. Ray challenged evidence found
in the search. Superior Court Judge Garrett Grant ruled the search illegal,
saying no apparent emergency existed that required immediate entry without a
warrant. A state appeals court and the state's high court disagreed, for
different reasons.

(c)1999 San Francisco Chronicle Page D6