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Flippo v. West Virginia, 528 U.S. 11 (1999)
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General SummaryThis case is from a collection containing the full text of over 16,000 Supreme Court cases from 1793 to the present. The body of Supreme Court decisions are, effectively, the final interpretation of the Constitution. Only an amendment to the Constitution can permanently overturn an interpretation and this has happened only four times in American history.
Flippo v. West Virginia, 528 U.S. 11 (1999)
Flippo v. West Virginia No. 98-8770 Decided October 18, 1999 528 U.S. 11
ON PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE CIRCUIT
COURT OF WEST VIRGINIA, FAYETTE COUNTY*
Syllabus
After petitioner was indicted for murdering his wife, he moved to suppress evidence that the police discovered in a closed briefcase during a warrantless search of the secured crime scene a cabin where the couple was vacationing. A West Virginia trial court denied his motion on the ground that the police were entitled to search any crime scene and the objects found there. The state Supreme Court of Appeals denied discretionary review.
Held: the trial court’s position squarely conflicts with this Court’s holding in Mincey v. Arizona, 437 U.S. 385, that there is no "murder scene exception" to the Fourth Amendment’s Warrant Clause. While the police may make warrantless entries onto premises if they reasonably believe a person needs immediate aid and may make prompt warrantless searches of a homicide scene for possible other victims or a killer, a search is not constitutionally permissible simply because a homicide has recently occurred on the premises. Id. at 395. On remand, if properly raised, matters such as the state’s contention that the search was consensual, the applicability of any other exception to the warrant rule, or the harmlessness vel non of any error in receiving this evidence may be resolved.
Certiorari granted; reversed and remanded.
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Chicago:
U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," Flippo v. West Virginia, 528 U.S. 11 (1999) in 528 U.S. 11 528 U.S. 12. Original Sources, accessed July 1, 2025, http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=BFAU7V7V4UIFVEF.
MLA:
U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." Flippo v. West Virginia, 528 U.S. 11 (1999), in 528 U.S. 11, page 528 U.S. 12. Original Sources. 1 Jul. 2025. http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=BFAU7V7V4UIFVEF.
Harvard:
U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in Flippo v. West Virginia, 528 U.S. 11 (1999). cited in 1999, 528 U.S. 11, pp.528 U.S. 12. Original Sources, retrieved 1 July 2025, from http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=BFAU7V7V4UIFVEF.
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