COPS GET LEEWAY TO ENTER HOMES

Across The Nation

Items compiled from Tribune news services

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Police officers may enter a home without a
warrant to break up a fight they have seen through a window, the
Supreme Court ruled Monday.

Usually, homes are off-limits to police and government searches
except when officers have a warrant from a judge.

The unanimous decision overturned rulings by the Utah state courts,
which held that a loud party and a drunken fight did not give police
reason to enter a home without a warrant.

Also Monday, the court rejected an appeal from a Tennessee inmate who
claims the drug combination used in most executions is cruel punishment.