In Kentucky v. King (2011), the Supreme Court held that police officers may enter a residence under the ‘exigent circumstances’ exception to the 4th Amendment’s search warrant requirement even when it is the police activity which creates the exigent circumstance. This case is the latest in a series of decisions in which the Supreme Court has weakened the protections of the 4th Amendment in the interests of police efficiency and effectiveness. In this paper, we take the position the Supreme Court erred in its decision; our colleague Martin O’Connor takes the opposite position. This is the latest in our annual ‘point–counterpoint’ series of articles on recent Supreme Court decisions affecting criminal justice.