State v. Cushing

Whether, absent exigent circumstances, a search of a residence must be authorized by a warrant.

The ACLU-NJ filed an amicus brief in a case where police entered a home without a search warrant and searched a bedroom closet even though the police should have known the defendant's aunt did not have the authority to consent to the search. Our brief urges the Supreme Court of New Jersey to continue its narrow construction of the consent search doctrine by requiring a warrant to search a home absent exigent circumstances.