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Court Opinions ›› Illinois v. McArthur (2001)
ILLINOIS v. CHARLES McARTHUR
No. 99-1132 SUPREME COURT OF THE UNITED STATES 531 U.S. 326; 121 S. Ct. 946; 148 L. Ed. 2d 838; 2001 U.S. LEXIS 962; 69 U.S.L.W. 4095; 2001 Cal. Daily Op. Service 1442; 2001 Daily Journal DAR 1805; 2001 Colo. J. C.A.R. 964; 14 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S 71 November 1, 2000, Argued February 20, 2001, Decided PRIOR HISTORY: ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS, FOURTH DISTRICT. Police officers, with probable cause to believe that respondent McArthur had hidden marijuana in his home, prevented him from entering the home unaccompanied by an officer for about two hours while they obtained a search warrant. Once they did so, the officers found drug paraphernalia and marijuana, and arrested McArthur. He was subsequently charged with misdemeanor possession of those items. He moved to suppress the evidence on the ground that it was the "fruit" of an unlawful police seizure, namely, the refusal to let him reenter his home unaccompanied. The Illinois trial court granted the motion, and the State Appellate Court affirmed.
Given the nature of the intrusion and the law enforcement interest at stake, the brief seizure of the premises was permissible under the Fourth Amendment.
In the circumstances of the case before us, we cannot say that the warrantless seizure was per se unreasonable. It involves a plausible claim of specially pressing or urgent law enforcement need, i.e., "exigent circumstances."
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The Illinois General Assembly has decided that the possession of less than 2.5 grams of marijuana is a class C misdemeanor. See Ill. Comp. Stat., ch. 720, § 550/4(a) (1998). In so classifying the offense, the legislature made a concerted policy judgment that the possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use does not constitute a particularly significant public policy concern. While it is true that this offense -- like feeding livestock on a public highway or offering a movie for rent without clearly displaying its rating -- may warrant a jail sentence of up to 30 days, the detection and prosecution of possessors of small quantities of this substance is by no means a law enforcement priority in the State of Illinois.
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Under the laws of many other States, the maximum penalty McArthur would have faced for possession of 2.3 grams of marijuana would have been less than what he faced in Illinois. See, e. g., Cal. Health & Safety Code Ann. § 11357(b) (West 1991) ($ 100 fine); Colo. Rev. Stat. § 18-18-406(1) (1999) ($ 100 fine); Minn. Stat. § 152.027(4) (2000) ($ 200 fine and drug education); Miss. Code Ann. § 41-29-139(c)(2)(A) (Supp. 1999) ($ 100-$ 250 fine); Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-416(13) (1995) ($ 100 fine and drug education); N. M. Stat. Ann. § 30-31-23(B) (1997) ($ 50-$ 100 fine and 15 days in jail); N. Y. Penal Law § 221.05 (McKinney 2000) ($ 100 fine); Ore. Rev. Stat. § 475.992(4)(f) (Supp. 1998) ($ 100 fine).
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