The Arizona Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling Wednesday that limits police powers to search houses without a warrant. The case arose out of a marijuana conviction.
In 2011, police were called to Bradley Harold Wilson's house in the small northern town Arizona of Taylor.
Neighbors told police Wilson was acting strangely.
According to court records, Wilson had shown up at a neighbor’s home, naked with a bowl of old food and a dog leash. Wilson told paramedics he had a jar of mercury in the house that could potentially poison others.
Police later went inside without a warrant looking for the mercury and spotted marijuana plants.
A trial judge convicted Wilson of growing marijuana after ruling police didn't need a warrant. But the Court of Appeals threw out the conviction.
The Supreme Court ruling said police need a warrant to search a house barring an actual emergency or danger to the community.
