WASHINGTON (AP) — After knocking, police don’t have
to wait longer than 20 seconds before breaking into the home of a
drug suspect, a unanimous Supreme Court ruled yesterday in a case
involving a man who said he needed more time to get from the shower
to the door.

LaShawn Banks emerged soapy and naked to find masked, heavily
armed officers searching for drugs in his Las Vegas apartment in
1998. His case gave the court its first opportunity to say how long
police must wait before breaking into a home to serve a
warrant.

The court didn’t set a specific standard but said the
brief delay in the Banks case was long enough. Any more time would
give drug suspects an opportunity to flush evidence down the
toilet.

Justice David Souter, writing for the nine justices, said while
“this call is a close one, we think that after 15 or 20
seconds without a response, police could fairly suspect that
cocaine would be gone if they were reticent any longer.”

He noted the unfortunate timing of the afternoon raid, which
brought Banks “out dripping to confront the police.”
But police didn’t know Banks was in the shower, he said.

Banks’ lawyer, Randall Roske, criticized the ruling,
saying it will lead to aggressive searches.

“Police are going to read this as, ‘Knock and
announce and kick the door in,’ ” he said.

The Supreme Court has said that in most cases, police armed with
court warrants to search for drugs must knock and announce
themselves, otherwise they run afoul of the Constitution’s
Fourth Amendment ban on unreasonable searches. There are
exceptions, such as when police have reason to believe a suspect
would be dangerous.

Although yesterday’s ruling did not spell out exactly how
long is a reasonable time to wait before executing warrants for
drugs or other contraband, it’s likely many officers in drug
cases will follow Souter’s reasoning and feel waiting 15 to
20 seconds is appropriate.

“This gives officers the leeway they were taking
throughout the country,” said George Washington University
law professor Stephen Saltzburg. “This is a case that
suggests great deference to the police.”

Officers knocked and announced themselves at Banks’
apartment, then waited 15 to 20 seconds before using a battering
ram to break down the door. They forced Banks to the floor and
handcuffed him, then allowed him to put on underwear, court records
show.

The North Las Vegas police and federal officers found crack
cocaine and three guns during the raid. Banks served four years of
an 11-year prison sentence before his conviction was
overturned.

Banks, 26, was at work yesterday and not available for comment.
His attorney said he would be returning to prison.

Souter said that because police believed there were drugs inside
Banks’ home, officers had more reason to rush in. He said
officers do not have freedom to destroy property in any raids
without longer delays.

“Police seeking a stolen piano may be able to spend more
time to make sure they really need the battering ram,” Souter
wrote.

Generally, courts have considered whether police moved too
hastily “case by case, largely avoiding categories and
protocols for searches,” Souter said. He noted that some
courts have found delays shorter than 15 seconds to be
reasonable.

Justices reversed the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling
in Banks’ favor. Souter said that the appeals court was wrong
to set up a multipart scheme for reviewing knock-and-announce
cases.

The Supreme Court ruled in 1995 that no-knock entries usually
are unlawful. Two years later, justices gave an exception to
officers executing drug warrants who can show they had reason to
believe a suspect would be dangerous or destroy evidence.