Police officers can arrest suspects they find in a home even though they entered without a search warrant
True or false
False, generally speaking.
In the United States, the Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures, and the general rule is that police officers cannot legally enter a home without a search warrant, consent, or exigent circumstances. Arrests made within a home without a warrant are presumptively unreasonable unless the circumstances fall into one of the exceptions to the warrant requirement.
Exigent circumstances can include situations where the officers have a reasonable belief that someone is in imminent danger, evidence is being destroyed, or a suspect is escaping. If officers enter a home legally under these exceptions and then find a suspect committing a crime, they may be able to make an arrest without a warrant.
However, any arrest made in a home without a search warrant and without exigent circumstances or consent could be challenged in court, and any evidence obtained as a result of the illegal entry could be suppressed under the exclusionary rule, meaning it cannot be used against the defendant in court.
The specifics of the law can vary from place to place and situation to situation, and it is advised to seek legal counsel for particular cases.