From a prosecutor's point of view, if anyone in my office filed charges for use of an E.L.T. in ANY emergency, they would probably be fired. I can't imagine any agency recommending prosecution if there was even a colorable emergency. I think you would have to have a completely improper use tantamount to setting off a false fire alarm before anyone would get excited. Remember, the pressure to prosecute would probably have to come from the workers actually involved in the SAR operation. Those guys tend to be very forgiving on the definition of an emergency(no matter how much they might [censored] about it among themselves).