Griffin v. Wisconsin

After being convicted in a Wisconsin state court of several offenses, Griffin was placed on probation. According to a Wisconsin regulation, any probation officer could search a probationer's residence without a warrant as long as the officer's supervisor approved and that there were "reasonable grounds" to believe that contraband was present. After Griffin's probation officer received information that there might be firearms in his apartment, police searched Griffin's apartment and found a handgun. Griffin was subsequently charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The state trial court denied Griffin's motion to suppress the evidence obtained and he was convicted. On appeal, both Wisconsin Court of Appeals and Wisconsin Supreme Court affirmed the conviction.[2][3]

In a 5–4 decision delivered by Justice Scalia, the Court held that the warrantless search of Griffin's residence did not violate the Fourth Amendment as the search was conducted "pursuant to a regulation that itself satisfies the Fourth Amendment's reasonableness requirement under well-established principles."[1] The Court further reasoned that a state's probation system presented " 'special needs' beyond normal law enforcement that may justify departures from the usual warrant and probable cause requirements."[2]

• List of United States Supreme Court cases, volume 483
• Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution

• Text of Griffin v. Wisconsin, 483 U.S. 868 (1987) is available from: Cornell  CourtListener  Findlaw  Google Scholar  Justia  Library of Congress  Oyez (oral argument audio)  vLex