Useless Gesture Exception Law and Legal Definition
Useless gesture exception refers to an exception to the knock and announce rule when the occupants of the house already have notice of the officers. It excuses police from having to announce their purpose before entering a premise in execution of a warrant when facts known to the officers justify them in being virtually certain that the occupant already knows their purpose. Two circumstances when the exception is applied are: when the police are in hot pursuit of a suspect, and when police know a dwelling is vacant or the occupants are not at home.
In Commonwealth v. Antwine, 417 Mass. 637 (Mass. 1994), the court held that the useless gesture exception, the basic principle of which is that law enforcement officers should be relieved of having to engage in meaningless procedural formalities that do nothing to further the policies behind the knock and announce rule.
