Does a landlord have a right to search a tenant's home without a warrant?

In addition, while the commission of a misdemeanor offense is not to be taken lightly, it militates against a finding of exigent circumstances where the offense, like the criminal trespass at issue here, is not inherently dangerous. We have held, for example, that police officers violate tenants' Fourth Amendment rights if they enter the tenants' apartment without a warrant based solely on the landlord's report that the tenants were trespassing. See King v. Massarweh, 782 F.2d 825, 828 (9th Cir.1986). Further, "one suspected of committing a minor offense would not likely resort to desperate measures to avoid arrest and prosecution," United States v. George, 883 F.2d 1407, 1413 n. 3 (9th Cir.1989), so any inference of danger or escape from the commission of the offense alone is not reasonable.¹³

[603 F.3d 746]