Justice Stephen Breyer, borrowing a phrase, on Wednesday called the Fourth Amendment case a "cruel trilemma." Justice Neil Gorsuch said he saw some inconsistency with the amendment's original meaning. Justice Samuel Alito Jr., looking at a video that was part of the evidence, questioned whether there was even a "hot pursuit," central to the case.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday found no easy answers to whether the "hot pursuit" exception to the Fourth Amendment's warrant requirement, which allows police to enter a home when they have probable cause to believe someone committed a felony, should be extended to misdemeanor pursuits.