Wilson v. Arkansas

In examining the petitioner's claim, the Supreme Court was forced to look beyond the Fourth Amendment, which does not mention any requirement for government authorities to identify themselves when making a reasonable search. In this case, the search was reasonable without question since the police had obtained warrants before proceeding. Therefore, the Court was obliged to seek its answer in the English common law, recognized as the foundation upon which U.S. law has been built.

When the United States secured its independence from Britain, the individual states and the union itself were faced with the task of devising their own legal systems. As a practical expedient, the original states decided to retain English common law until their legislatures saw fit to amend it. The language used by the New York legislature is typical: "such parts of the common law of England as did form the law [New York prior to the Revolution] shall be and continue the law of this State, subject to such alterations and provisions as the legislature of this State shall, from time to time, make concerning the same." In fact, the Court had recognized the standing of common law within American courts in many cases, including Miller v. United States, (1958).

Although the Fourth Amendment does not mention any requirement for authorities to knock and announce themselves before entering a suspect's home, English common law certainly does. One of its cornerstone principles is that "a man's home is his castle," within which the individual is a kind of monarch. As stated in Blackstone's Commentaries, although the authorities may even break down a suspect's door to enter his house if he does not answer or refuses to submit to a search, they must knock and announce themselves first. "But before he [the authorities] breaks it, he ought to signify the cause of his coming, and to make request to open doors." In effect, common law gives the suspect the chance to willingly submit to a search before the authorities are legally able to direct action to conduct it.