In the case of Miller v. United States (1957), the Supreme Court ruled that law enforcement officers must adhere to the "knock and announce" rule before entering a private residence, even if they possess a search warrant. The case arose when police entered petitioner's apartment without announcing their identity or purpose in violation of District of Columbia Code § 3109 which requires an officer to give notice before forcibly breaking into any house for executing a search warrant. The court held that evidence obtained through such an entry was not admissible in trial as it violated Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures. This decision reinforced legal protections for individuals' privacy rights within their own homes, emphasizing that these rights cannot be overridden by law enforcement procedures unless there is clear justification under specific circumstances outlined by law.

In the dissenting opinion for Miller v. United States, Justice Tom C. Clark disagreed with the majority's interpretation of 18 U.S.C § 3109, which requires law enforcement officers to announce their presence and purpose before forcibly entering a dwelling. He argued that this statute should not be applied in cases where officers have reasonable grounds to believe that announcing their presence would endanger them or lead to the destruction of evidence. In his view, applying § 3109 rigidly could potentially put police lives at risk and hinder effective law enforcement. Furthermore, he contended that there was no constitutional basis for imposing such a requirement on federal officers since it is not explicitly mentioned in Fourth Amendment jurisprudence.