[Iowa_Flames_Fan]

Originally Posted by jolinar of malkshor

He was not arrested in his home, he was arrested outside. There was no intention to arrest until his behavior became disorderly outside.

On his porch, you mean. He wasn't going to get too far off the porch without his cane.

Here's what I've found about probable cause as regards entering a home in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Nothing really conclusive, but I really do have to get back to work (emphasis added):

Probable cause exists only if the facts and circumstances known to the officer would warrant a reasonably prudent person to believe that a crime has been committed and that you committed it.

If you are in your home, you have an additional layer of constitutional protection. Probable cause alone is not enough to allow a police officer to enter your home for the purpose of arresting you. The general rule is that an officer needs a warrant to enter your home for the purpose of arresting you. But there are important exceptions to that rule which are too complicated to discuss on this tape.

I bolded the second part because it corroborates part of Gates' story--that it was immediately upon stepping outside that he was arrested.

Furthermore:

You have the right to be free form an illegal search of your home. The police need a search warrant or probable cause plus an exception to the warrant requirement in order to conduct a legal search of your home. You have the right to see the search warrant. The police may legally search your home, even without a warrant, if you consent to the search.

It doesn't specify what is required, but my guess is that the standard in Massachusetts is a little higher than in Canada, based on the above. Note that probable cause alone is not sufficient grounds to begin a search of the home. Given that even probable cause is in doubt here, my suspicion (without having read the relevant statutes) is that the officer should not have entered the house without permission, and if he had arrested Gates inside the house would have been in even bigger doo-doo. Luckily, he didn't do that, but he may still have entered without proper cause in this case.