[supercat]

I don't know the particulars of the case, but I beleive that they merely had to open the door and look in. It was the living room where the "activity" was taking place. Does this matter legally? Should this matter legally?

Interesting question. If one feels that people should be allowed to engage freely [with regard to society's laws--not with regard to Judgement Day] in non-commercial sexual relations provided that (1) they don't violate things like marriage contracts, and (2) they take reasonable care to avoid discovery, then the two questions that arise in this case are: -1- Did the police do anything illegal, given that they had what they reasonably believed to be accurate information about a crime-in-progress?

-2- Did the men take reasonable care to avoid discovery, or would reasonable care have required that they either undertake their activities away from the entrance [which they may have done, I don't know] and/or lock the door?

[meyer]

Interesting question. If one feels that people should be allowed to engage freely [with regard to society's laws--not with regard to Judgement Day] in non-commercial sexual relations provided that (1) they don't violate things like marriage contracts, and (2) they take reasonable care to avoid discovery, then the two questions that arise in this case are: -1- Did the police do anything illegal, given that they had what they reasonably believed to be accurate information about a crime-in-progress?

If the Supreme Court were to take this case, this would be the issue that I would like them to tackle - in essence, is the visual evidence that the Police gained in this case admissable in court based on the fact that they did open the front door erroneously? I'd like the answer to be "no". Otherwise, look for doors to inadvertently be opened more frequently, and without warrant.

As I recall, warrants and probable cause are quite specific - they aren't blanket "search the house, you may find something" kinds of things. If the Police opened this door without thinking that they might find a sodomy law violation, does their inadvertent discovery become admissable? I can see observing a crime on the street in a public area, but this was in the confines of someone's abode.

-2- Did the men take reasonable care to avoid discovery, or would reasonable care have required that they either undertake their activities away from the entrance [which they may have done, I don't know] and/or lock the door?

That's a good question. I tend to keep my doors locked at night, but sometimes during the day, they are unlocked. I, as a reasonable person, don't expect folks to come walking in. And if they do, I have Mr. Glock at my side to escort them back out. I would hope that the police don't inadvertently walk in some afternoon looking for something entirely different.

I understand that this "visible from the door" issue had come up before, but I'm not sure what court it was in. If I recall, it was a gun case and the cops won in the court.