Payton v. New York
United States Supreme Court
445 U.S. 573 (1980)
Believing they had probable cause that Payton (defendant) committed murder, police went to his apartment without a warrant at 7:30 a.m., and when he didn't answer, broke in and found a gun shell casing in plain view, which was admitted at trial under New York law authorizing such warrantless entries; in the companion case, police went to Riddick's home at noon without a warrant to arrest him for armed robbery, entering after his 3-year-old son answered the door and before Riddick invited them in, then arresting him and seizing drugs found in a dresser. Both trial judges upheld the warrantless home entries and resulting evidence as permissible under New York law.
Whether, absent exigent circumstances, the Fourth Amendment permits police to make a warrantless entry into a suspect's home to effect a routine felony arrest.