Case v. Montana
Decided January 14, 2026. Elena Kagan delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 24-624
Holding
Under the standard set in Brigham City v. Stuart, 547 U. S. 398, 400, the Fourth Amendment allows police officers to enter a home without a warrant if they have an “objectively reasonable basis for believing” that someone inside needs emergency assistance; that standard was met here.
The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court. Read the official opinion for authority.
How the Justices voted
Decided 9–0.
Majority · 9
- John G. Roberts, Jr.
- Clarence Thomas
- Samuel A. Alito, Jr.
- Sonia Sotomayor · filed a concurring opinion
- Elena Kagan · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Neil M. Gorsuch · filed a concurring opinion
- Brett M. Kavanaugh
- Amy Coney Barrett
- Ketanji Brown Jackson
“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. The lineup is the syllabus’s disposition of who wrote and joined each opinion. Source: the opinion’s syllabus (supremecourt.gov).
Official text
Read the official opinion (PDF, supremecourt.gov)
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Elena Kagan’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2026). Data last verified 2026-08-15. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).