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Exigent Circumstances
"Exigent circumstances" is an exception to the warrant requirement applying in emergency situations. The search is "objectively reasonable" due to the compelling needs of law enforcement.
While the exception is determined on a "totality of the circumstances" test, emergenices fall into a few general categories:
1. Hot pursuit
2. Imminent destruction of evidence
3. Safety of officers/individuals/public
It applies when “the exigencies of the situation make the needs of law enforcement so compelling that [a] warrantless search is objectively reasonable.”means there is an emergency and police do not have time to get a warrant.
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