Thompson v. Louisiana

In this case, the Louisiana Supreme Court upheld the validity of a warrantless “murder scene” search of petitioner’s home. Because this holding is in direct conflict with our opinion in Mincey v. Arizona, 437 U. S. 385 (1978), we reverse.

I

The Louisiana Supreme Court states the facts as follows:

“On May 18, 1982, several deputies from the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Department arrived at [petitioner’s] home in response to a report by the [petitioner’s] daughter of a homicide. The deputies entered the house, made a cursory search and discovered [petitioner’s] husband dead of a gunshot wound in a…