TIM O'BRIEN, ABC News: (voiceover) There was no doubt
Steeny (ph) Richards was dealing drugs. He pleaded guilty
after police found $19,000 worth of cocaine in his hotel
room in Madison, Wisconsin. Officers had knocked on the
door, but they didn't wait for Richards to answer before
breaking in. (on camera) That may have been a critical
mistake. The Supreme Court ruled two years ago that unless
there are exceptional circumstances, police do not have
carte blanche to barge into someone's home. (voiceover)
Wisconsin's attorney general asked the Court to retreat on
that idea, arguing that drug busts are so inherently
dangerous, police should never be required to announce
their presence before executing a search warrant. JAMES
DOYLE, Wisconsin Attorney General: And in those cases,
police should be able to presume that there is a danger to
them by knocking and announcing both to themselves
physically, and the possibility that evidence will be
destroyed. TIM O'BRIEN: (voiceover) But some Justices
were skeptical. Justice O'Connor cautioned it might be
safer for police as well as the suspects for officers to
wait for somebody to answer the door. Justice Scalia noted
that police already have the right to break in without
notice if they can provide a good reason, and that in drug
cases, they can provide a good reason 99 percent of the
time. POLICE OFFICER: (inaudible) sheriff's office, search
warrant. TIM O'BRIEN: (voiceover) The concept that one's
home is one's castle is as old as the English Common Law.
That principle is being challenged in this case, as the
Supreme Court tries to balance the government's war on
drugs against an individual's right to privacy. Tim
O'Brien, ABC News, Washington. DEBORAH ROBERTS: That's the
news. (Weather)