In a 5-4 ruling today with Justice Samuel Alito in the majority, the Supreme Court held that no constitutional violation occurred when Detroit police, serving a search warrant at the home of an armed drug dealer, announced their presence from outside the door and then entered the premises three to five seconds later. As the AP’s Gina Holland reports, “The outcome might have been different if Justice Sandra Day O’Connor was still on the bench,” since she leaned toward the criminal defendant in oral arguments. The case was re-argued after Alito’s arrival.