Dixon

MEMORANDUM *

The government appeals a district court order suppressing drug evidence that Vallejo Police Department officers obtained when they searched Dixon’s home pursuant to a search warrant on September 14, *689 2000. 1 The district court, following the approach we set forth in United States v. Banks, 282 F.3d 699 (9th Cir.2002), found that the officers’ search violated federal knock-and-announce law because the officers waited only 20 to 30 seconds after knocking to enter Dixon’s apartment forcibly. 2 After the district court entered its order, the Supreme Court reversed our Banks decision and clarified the role of exigent circumstances in knock-and-announce law. See United States v. Banks, 540 U.S. 31 , 124 S.Ct. 521 , 157 L.Ed.2d 343 (2003).

Under Banks, officers must normally wait a sufficient period of time after knocking and announcing their presence to allow an occupant to get to the door — a length of time that will vary according to such things as the time of day and the size and layout of the residence. Depending on the totality of the circumstances known to the officers at the time, however, they may force entry once they reasonably suspect that an occupant will…