Motel security calls cops about the smell of marijuana coming from a room. Cops show up, knock on the room door and notice a strong smell of marijuana when the door is opened. Cop asks for ID and starts to question occupant about smell. Occupant attempts to close door, but is prevented by cop's foot. Cop then pushes door open so he could keep an eye on occupant. Occupant refuses cop's request to enter room (good boy!). Several minutes later backup arrives and occupant relents, allowing cops in and consenting to search (bad boy!). Naturally a roach is discovered and occupant is arrested for misdemeanor marijuana.Occupant moves to suppress, but neither magistrate judge nor DJ see anything wrong. Theory being, foot in door is illegal entry but consent to second officer was voluntary.
COA reverses and vacates the conviction. First, it confirms that "the first officer unlawfully entered the motel room when he stopped the door from closing with his foot and then pushed the door open so he could continue to observe Hudson." It then stated that, under the attenuation doctrine, the court must determine "whether the police acquired the evidence by exploiting the illegality or by means sufficiently distinguishable to be purged of the primary taint."
In this case, the police were still exploiting the illegal intrusion because the police prevented the occupant from shutting the door. "Therefore, because the unlawful intrusion ws ongoing, the search and subsequent acquisition of incriminating evidence was contemporaneous and irrevocably intertwined with the misconduct." Also, there were no intervening circumstances to independently justify the police intrusion. Thus, the evidence had to be suppressed because the "consent to the second officer to search his room was tainted by the unlawful police instrusion."
State v. Hudson http://www.isc.idaho.gov/opinions/Hudson-opn.pdf
Nice win by IACDL member Bryce Powell. Well done, Bryce.
Congrats, Bryce.
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