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An officer arrives to a call for assistance and hears screams for help from inside the residence. What justification does the officer have to enter and search the home without a warrant?
a. Asking for help is considered consent to enter and search.
b. If a person can be heard outside of a residence, there is no expectation of privacy.
c. Danger to a third party is an exigent circumstance exception.
d. A call to 911 to request assistance is considered consent to search.

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
c.

The screams create an exigent-circumstances (emergency-aid) situation that allows warrantless entry to prevent imminent injury or render aid (see cases such as Brigham City v. Stuart). The other choices are incorrect — cries for help are not equivalent to consent, and occupants still have an expectation of privacy inside their home.