Police erred in searching a house without a warrant when they were given permission by one resident but were refused by another, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled.

The Associated Press reported March 22 that the court ruled 5-3 to throw out a case where police found drugs in a search of a Georgia man's home after responding to a domestic-abuse call. The man's wife told police about the drugs and invited them to search, but the man refused the search.

In a dissent, Chief Justice John Roberts criticized his colleagues for not giving police or lower courts practical guidance in the case, and also expressed concern that an abusive spouse could prevent police from entering a home during a domestic dispute.

But Justice John Paul Stevens wrote that "assuming that both spouses are competent, neither one is a master possessing the power to override the other's constitutional right to deny entry to their castle."