OpinionJournal - Back to Sanity?

As the Senate Committee on Intelligence votes 12-3 to send the nomination of General Michael Hayden to the floor of the Senate, the Supreme Court (Brigham City v. Stuart) rules unanimously that police and other agents of the state may indeed invade a private residence in order to:

1. Fight a fire.
2. Investigate the cause of said fire.
3. Prevent the imminent destruction of evidence (say, if the occupants, upon hearing the words "Police!" and "Search warrant!" shouted at them through a door, rush to the bathroom to flush drugs down the toilet).
4. Pursue a fleeing suspect.
5. Stop someone from getting hurt (or hurt worse), or killed.

Daniel Henninger gives a much-needed perspective on the appropriate exercise of police power in time of war.