NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE

APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION

SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY

APPELLATE DIVISION

DOCKET NO. A-0580-20

 A-0581-20

STATE OF NEW JERSEY,

Plaintiff-Appellant,

v.

JOELLE D. CARONNA,

Defendant-Respondent.

________________________

STATE OF NEW JERSEY,

Plaintiff-Appellant,

v.

FREDDY COLLADO,

Defendant-Respondent.

________________________

Argued October 14, 2021 – Decided November 3, 2021

Before Judges Fasciale, Sumners and Vernoia.

On appeal from interlocutory orders of the Superior 

Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Middlesex 

County, Indictment No. 20-02-0221.

Nancy A. Hulett, Assistant Prosecutor, argued the 

cause for appellant State of New Jersey (Yolanda 

APPROVED FOR PUBLICATION

November 3, 2021

APPELLATE DIVISION
A-0580-20 2

Ciccone, Middlesex County Prosecutor, attorney; 

Nancy A. Hulett, of counsel and on the brief).

Scott M. Welfel, Assistant Deputy Public Defender, 

argued the cause for respondent Joelle D. Caronna 

(Joseph E. Krakora, Public Defender, attorney; Scott 

M. Welfel, of counsel and on the brief).

Joseph M. Mazraani argued the cause for respondent 

Freddy Collado (Mazraani & Liguouri, LLP, 

attorneys; Joseph M. Mazraani and Jeffrey S. Farmer, 

of counsel and on the brief).

Sarah D. Brigham, Deputy Attorney General, argued 

the cause for amicus curiae Attorney General of New 

Jersey (Andrew J. Bruck, Acting Attorney General, 

attorney; Adam D. Klein, of counsel and on the brief).

Alexander Shalom, American Civil Liberties Union of 

New Jersey Foundation, argued the cause for amicus 

curiae (American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey 

Foundation, attorneys; Alexander Shalom and Jeanne 

LoCicero, on the brief).

Barry H. Evenchick, Association of Criminal Defense 

Lawyers of New Jersey, argued the cause for amicus 

curiae (Pashman Stein Walder Hayden, attorneys; CJ 

Griffin, of counsel and on the brief).

The opinion of the court was delivered by 

FASCIALE, P.J.A.D.

This appeal requires us to determine, as a matter of first impression,

whether under our State Constitution the exclusionary rule applies to an 

unconstitutional and flagrant violation of a search warrant's knock-andannounce requirement. A detective requested and obtained a warrant that 
A-0580-20 3

required the police to knock and announce their presence before entering an

apartment. The detective and two other officers arrived at the scene and saw 

defendant Freddy Collado outside approximately fifty yards from the 

apartment. As they detained him, Collado confirmed he did not "live around 

here," no one was in his house (which was in a different town), and that he did 

not have keys to the apartment. The three officers then went to the front door 

of defendant Joelle Caronna's apartment to execute the search warrant.

The police did not previously investigate the names of the lawful 

occupants of the apartment. But they had previously observed defendants 

utilize the apartment and knew Caronna's driver's license matched the 

apartment building address. Without any exigency or justification, and not 

knowing who was in the apartment, they did not knock on the front door and 

announce their presence. They simply opened the unlocked door and, in a 

normal tone, said, "Hello." Caronna, who was in an upstairs bedroom and 

naked from the waist down, responded by saying "Babe?" The police 

remained silent, climbed the stairs, entered her bedroom, and said, "How you 

doing, what's going on?" 
A-0580-20 4

Then for the first time, they announced they were police and were there 

to search the apartment.

1

 The parties agree that the police acted 

unconstitutionally by inexplicably ignoring the warrant's mandate to knock and 

announce. They disagree on the remedy. 

The motion judge concluded that the exclusionary rule applied to the 

violation and suppressed drugs seized during the search. Pertinent to our 

adjudication of the issue presented, Article I, Paragraph 7 of the New Jersey 

Constitution generally provides greater protection against unreasonable 

searches and seizures than the Fourth Amendment of the United States 

Constitution. That is undisputed. The primary legal question is whether New 

Jersey's increased state constitutional safeguards support suppression of the 

drugs. 

1

 A grand jury indicted Caronna and Collado (collectively defendants), who 

police believed were boyfriend and girlfriend, and charged them with seconddegree conspiracy to commit the crimes of possession of a controlled 

dangerous substance (CDS) with intent to distribute (N.J.S.A. 2C:35-5) and 

financial facilitation of criminal activity (N.J.S.A. 2C:21-25), N.J.S.A. 2C:5-2; 

first-degree maintaining or operating a CDS production facility, N.J.S.A. 

2C:35-4; first-degree possession with intent to distribute more than five ounces 

of cocaine, N.J.S.A. 2C:35-5(b)(1); third-degree possession with intent to 

distribute heroin and/or fentanyl in a quantity less than one-half ounce, 

N.J.S.A. 2C:35-5(b)(3); third-degree possession with intent to distribute 

marijuana in a quantity greater than one ounce but less than five pounds, 

N.J.S.A. 2C:35-5(b)(11); and third-degree financial facilitation of criminal 

activity, N.J.S.A. 2C:21-25(a).
A-0580-20 5

The State—joined by the Attorney General (AG) as amicus—argues 

against application of the exclusionary rule. Instead of focusing on Article I, 

Paragraph 7, they primarily rely on the Fourth Amendment as interpreted in 

Hudson v. Michigan, 547 U.S. 586, 591-94 (2006), which held, in a sharply 

divided decision, that the exclusionary rule is not a necessary remedy for 

knock-and-announce violations. Even though the officers here unjustifiably 

ignored the knock-and-announce requirement, the State and AG contend that 

causation was too attenuated to justify exclusion, and they argue deterrence 

from this type of police misconduct is achievable by means other than 

suppression. They say deterrence is generally achieved by police wearing 

body cameras; by victims of these constitutional violations filing civil lawsuits 

against the police seeking compensatory and punitive damages under 42 

U.S.C. § 1983; and by victims of the unconstitutional behavior filing civilian 

complaints before Internal Affairs (IA) seeking disciplinary action against law 

enforcement officers.2 

Defendants—joined by amici Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers 

of New Jersey (ACDL-NJ) and the American Civil Liberties Union of New 

Jersey Foundation (ACLU)—disagree. They implore us to apply the 

2

 At oral argument before us, the State was unable to confirm whether the 

officers here were disciplined. 
A-0580-20 6

heightened protections available under Article I, Paragraph 7, not the 

minimum guarantees afforded by the Fourth Amendment. They emphasize 

that Article I, Paragraph 7 provides greater protection against unreasonable 

searches and seizures than the Fourth Amendment, as interpreted in Hudson,

and that the heightened state constitutional guarantees apply to police who 

unjustifiably violate a knock-and-announce warrant requirement. Defendants 

reiterate that Hudson interpreted the Fourth Amendment, not Article I, 

Paragraph 7. They argue that only the exclusionary rule effectively deters 

police from these violations, rather than wearing body cameras or the 

possibility of facing a civil lawsuit or disciplinary charge. Although their 

body cameras were on3and these other remedies existed, the officers still 

entered the apartment without knocking or announcing their presence. In other 

words, body cameras, potential Section 1983 actions, or possible disciplinary 

actions did not effectively deter the flagrant violation that occurred here. 

We hold that the exclusionary rule applies where police violate Article I, 

Paragraph 7 by unreasonably and unjustifiably ignoring a search warrant 

requirement that they knock and announce their presence before entering a 

dwelling. We also conclude that no exception to the exclusionary rule applies

3

 At least two of the three officers who entered the apartment utilized body 

cameras. 
A-0580-20 7

here, especially because of the flagrant violation. New Jersey's Constitution 

"provides greater protection against unreasonable searches and seizures than 

the Fourth Amendment." State v. Carter, 247 N.J. 488, 504 (2021). 

Compliance with a knock-and-announce warrant requirement is a critical 

predicate for a reasonable search under our State Constitution. It is simply 

objectively unreasonable—without justification4—for police to ignore a knockand-announce requirement contained in a warrant that they requested and 

obtained. Ignoring the requirement contravenes the search and seizure rights 

of New Jersey residents. Our holding comports with New Jersey's Article I, 

Paragraph 7 law; effectively deters police from flagrantly violating knock-and4

 Of course, we recognize that under certain circumstances, the requirement to 

knock and announce is not absolute. Our holding does not change that. In 

general, reasons to ignore the requirement are (i) exigent circumstances; or (ii) 

officers have demonstrated a reasonable, particularized suspicion that a noknock entry is required to (a) prevent destruction of evidence, (b) to protect the 

officer's safety, or (c) to effectuate an arrest or seizure of evidence. See State 

v. Robinson, 200 N.J. 1, 14 (2009). And the requirement to knock-andannounce does not apply if—unlike here—police execute a warrant for the 

search of an unoccupied residence. See State v. Bilancio, 318 N.J. Super. 408, 

410 (App. Div. 1999). 

But this case is not about whether the police justifiably ignored the 

knock-and-announce requirement. And it is certainly not about whether the 

police knocked and announced and then failed to sufficiently wait before 

entering. The motion judge's finding that there existed no justification or 

exigencies to authorize entering without knocking and announcing is supported 

by substantial credible evidence in the record, and the parties acknowledge as 

much. The State does not challenge that part of the motion judge's analysis 

and findings. 
A-0580-20 8

announce search warrant requirements; safeguards against unconstitutional, 

unreasonable, and illegal searches and seizures under New Jersey law; and,

importantly, upholds the rule of law and integrity of our administration of 

justice.

In these back-to-back appeals, which we have consolidated for this 

opinion, we therefore affirm the interlocutory order entered by the motion 

judge suppressing the drugs. 

I. 

We understand that under the Fourth Amendment, our holding would be 

different. We certainly do not question the United States Supreme Court's 

interpretation of the Fourth Amendment. That Court is the final arbiter of the 

Federal Constitution. See Comm. to Recall Robert Menendez From the Off. of 

U.S. Senator v. Wells, 204 N.J. 79, 131 (2010). But it does not necessarily 

follow that applying the heightened liberty safeguards of Article I, Paragraph 7 

requires the same result. 

A.

Hudson does not comport with our State Constitution. In Hudson, police 

executed a search warrant of the defendant's home for narcotics and weapons. 

547 U.S. at 588. Upon arrival at the defendant's home, the police—unlike 

here—announced their presence, but waited only "three to five seconds," 
A-0580-20 9

before entering the home through the unlocked front door. 5 Ibid. The 

defendant moved to suppress the evidence found in the search on the ground 

that the police violated the Fourth Amendment and Michigan's knock-andannounce statute by failing to properly knock and announce before entering his 

home.6 Ibid. 

5

 We reiterate, this case is not about whether the police reasonably waited 

after knocking and announcing their presence before entering the apartment. 

Here, unlike in Hudson, they did not knock and announce.

 

6

 Although referred to as the "knock-and-announce" statute, the Michigan law 

only requires police to announce their authority and purpose when executing a 

warrant (which they did in Hudson, unlike here): 

The officer to whom a warrant is directed, or any 

person assisting him, may break any outer or inner 

door or window of a house or building, or anything 

therein, in order to execute the warrant, if, after notice 

of his authority and purpose, he is refused admittance, 

or when necessary to liberate himself or any person 

assisting him in execution of the warrant. 

[40 Mich. Comp. Laws § 780.656 (2021). See e.g., 

People v. Harvey, 195 N.W.2d 773, 775 (Mich. Ct. 

App. 1972) (concluding the officer complied with the 

knock-and-announce statute when the officer 

"knocked on the door leading to the living quarters, 

loudly announced the presence of a law enforcement 

agency with a search warrant, announced the purpose, 

a raid, waited long enough for the inhabitants to reach 

the door from the room farthest away, and then began 

to kick in the door").] 
A-0580-20 10

The Michigan trial court granted the motion to suppress.7 Ibid. The 

Michigan Court of Appeals reversed on an interlocutory review, based on 

recent Michigan Supreme Court cases holding that suppression was not the 

appropriate remedy when officers made entry without a proper "knock and 

announce." Id. at 588-89. The Michigan Supreme Court denied leave to 

appeal, and after the defendant's conviction,8the defendant appealed to the 

United States Supreme Court. Id. at 589. 

 Writing for the majority, in a five-to-four decision, Justice Antonin 

Scalia held that the exclusionary rule did not apply to a knock-and-announce 

violation because causation was too attenuated to justify exclusion, and 

because the deterrence benefits did not outweigh the substantial social costs 

given that there were other ways to deter such violations. Id. at 594-99. 

Justice Scalia reasoned that a victim of an unlawful police action may sue for 

7 The prosecution in Hudson conceded that the officers violated the statute. 

547 U.S. at 590. In Michigan's merits brief to the United States Supreme 

Court, it argued that the suppression hearing was held on the defendant's 

contention that "the officers executing the warrant had failed to wait a 

reasonable period after announcing their presence and purpose." Brief for 

Respondent, Hudson v. Michigan, 547 U.S. 586 (2006) (No. 04-1360), 2005 

U.S. S. Ct. Briefs LEXIS 667, at *8.

8

 The defendant renewed his Fourth Amendment argument on appeal from his 

conviction. Id. at 589. The Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed the 

conviction for the same reasons as its decision in the interlocutory review, and 

the Michigan Supreme Court again declined review. Ibid. 
A-0580-20 11

damages based on 42 U.S.C. § 1983. Id. at 597-99. According to Justice 

Scalia, there was "increasing evidence that police forces across the United 

States take the constitutional rights of citizens seriously." Id. at 599. To 

further justify the inapplicability of the exclusionary rule, Justice Scalia found 

there was an "increasing professionalism of police forces, including a new 

emphasis on internal police discipline" since that Court decided Mapp.

9

Id. at 

598. Hence, he was satisfied police would adhere to the knock-and-announce 

requirement to avoid becoming a defendant in a Section 1983 action, or the 

subject of internal discipline. Id. at 597-99. In the majority's view, effective 

deterrence of violations of knock-and-announce search warrant requirements 

can be achieved without suppressing evidence. 

The majority did not fully embrace Justice Scalia's views, as Justice 

Anthony Kennedy concurred. In State v. Rodriguez, we explained that "to 

fully understand the extent or future application of the [Hudson] holding, 

consideration must also be given to Justice Kennedy's concurring opinion." 

399 N.J. Super. 192, 203 (App. Div. 2008); see id. at 205 (evidencing our 

strong disinclination to follow Hudson because "Justice [Stephen] Breyer's 

dissenting opinion appear[ed] far more in tune with the manner in which our 

9

 Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643 (1961). 
A-0580-20 12

courts have interpreted and applied the similar provisions of [our] [S]tate 

[C]onstitution"). Justice Kennedy emphasized in his concurrence that a breach 

of a warrant's knock-and-announce requirement "is a serious matter," and 

"[s]ecurity must not be subject to erosion by indifference or contempt." 

Hudson, 547 U.S. at 603 (Kennedy, J., concurring).

Four members of the United States Supreme Court rejected the 

majority's conclusion that Section 1983 cases would deter knock-and-announce 

violations. Hudson, 547 U.S. at 609-11 (Breyer, J., dissenting). The 

dissenters concluded that the majority decision "weakens, perhaps destroys, 

much of the practical value of the Constitution's knock-and-announce 

protection." Id. at 605. They asserted that the majority's holding was based 

solely on "an unvarnished judicial instinct." Id. at 629. On this point, and 

highlighting the majority's acknowledgment that Section 1983 actions would

involve limitations on the amount of likely compensable damages, the 

dissenters explained:

To argue [as the majority acknowledged] that there 

may be few civil suits because violations may produce 

nothing "more than nominal injury" is to confirm, not 

to deny, the inability of civil suits to deter violations. 

And to argue without evidence (and despite myriad 

reported cases of violations, no reported case of civil 

damages, and Michigan's concession of their 

nonexistence) that civil suits may provide deterrence 

because claims may "have been settled" is, perhaps, to 

search in desperation for an argument. Rather, the 
A-0580-20 13

majority, as it candidly admits, has simply "assumed" 

that, "[a]s far as [it] know[s], civil liability is an 

effective deterrent," a support-free assumption that 

Mapp and subsequent cases make clear does not 

embody the Court's normal approach to difficult 

questions of Fourth Amendment law. 

[Id. at 611 (citations omitted) (alterations in original).]

The dissenters traced the history of the knock-and-announce rule, 

explained the legal purpose underlying the exclusionary rule, and concluded—

like New Jersey law—that the knock-and-announce rule "forms a part of the 

reasonableness inquiry under the Fourth Amendment." Id. at 606 (quoting 

Wilson v. Arkansas, 514 U.S. 927, 929 (1995)). The dissenters unequivocally 

declared that a breach of the rule—like in our State—renders the search and 

seizure of the evidence unconstitutional. Id. at 608. 

[S]eparating the "manner of entry" from the related 

search slices the violation too finely. As noted, . . . 

we have described a failure to comply with the knockand-announce rule, not as an independently unlawful 

event, but as a factor that renders the search

"constitutionally defective." Wilson, 514 U.S.[] at 

936; see also id.[] at 934 (compliance with the knockand-announce requirement is one of the "factors to be 

considered in assessing the reasonableness of a search 

or seizure" (emphasis added)); Ker v. California, 374 

U.S. 23, 53 (1963) (opinion of Brennan, J.) ("[A] 

lawful entry is the indispensable predicate of a 

reasonable search.").

[Id. at 615 (parallel citations omitted).] 
A-0580-20 14

The dissenters also thoroughly explained why the inevitable discovery 

doctrine, the independent source doctrine, and the attenuation doctrine did not 

apply. Id. at 614-18; 625-29. 

Before and after Hudson, other states have grappled with the legal issue 

presented here. Courts in five states have followed Hudson and held that their 

state constitutions do not mandate the application of the exclusionary rule as a 

remedy for a violation of the knock-and-announce rule.10 An intermediate 

appellate court in Pennsylvania held that its state constitution required 

suppression of evidence for violations of the knock-and-announce

requirement.

11 Two other states determined that suppression was unnecessary 

because the evidence sought to be suppressed was purportedly not obtained "as 

a result of" the knock-and-announce violation.12 And the high courts in other 

states have held that their state statute required suppression of the evidence.13 

10

 State v. Roberson, 225 P.3d 1156, 1157 (Ariz. Ct. App. 2010); Lane v. 

State, 513 S.W.3d 230, 235-36 (Ark. 2017); In re Frank S., 47 Cal. Rptr. 3d 

320, 324 (Cal. Ct. App. 2006); People v. Glorioso, 924 N.E.2d 1153, 1154-55 

(Ill. App. Ct. 2010); State v. Bremby, 90 N.E.3d 891, 900-01 (Ohio 2017).

11

 Commonwealth v. Frederick, 124 A.3d 748, 757 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2015) 

(citing Commonwealth v. Crompton, 682 A.2d 286, 289-90 (Pa. 1996)). 

12

 See State v. White, 646 S.E.2d 609, 612-13 (N.C. Ct. App. 2007) 

(interpreting a statute which provides that evidence must be suppressed if "if is 

obtained as a result of a substantial violation" of the state knock-and-announce

statute); see also State v. Callaghan, 222 S.W.3d 610, 615-16 (Tex. Crim. App. 
A-0580-20 15

As we said, we do not question the Supreme Court's interpretation of the 

Fourth Amendment, or other jurisdictions' interpretations of their respective 

state statutes, constitutions, and/or the Fourth Amendment. Instead, our 

holding, that the exclusionary rule applies to unjustified, flagrant knock-andannounce violations, is rooted in Article I, Paragraph 7 of the New Jersey 

Constitution and our State's rich search and seizure jurisprudence. Our 

Constitution provides more expansive protections against unreasonable 

searches and seizures than the Fourth Amendment as interpreted by Hudson. 

And we have an obligation to ensure those protections are not eroded through 

the abandonment of the deterrence provided by the exclusionary rule. 

2007) (finding that the causation analysis in Hudson applied to the state's 

statutory exclusionary rule and did not require the suppression of evidence).

13 See State v. Cable, 51 So. 3d 434, 437-42 (Fla. 2010) (citing its prior 

decision in Benefield v. State, 160 So. 2d 706 (Fla. 1964), and finding Hudson

does not prohibit the state from providing the exclusionary rule for violations 

of the state knock-and-announce statute); see also Berumen v. State, 182 P.3d 

635, 637 (Alaska Ct. App. 2008) (holding Hudson inapplicable to a serious 

violation of the state's knock-and-announce statute and concluding suppression 

of evidence is the appropriate remedy); cf. Hourin v. State, 804 S.E.2d 388, 

396-97 (Ga. 2017) (noting that the statute allowing for suppression of evidence 

when "the warrant was illegally executed" might apply to violations of the 

knock-and-announce rule, but possibly only to violations accompanied by 

force, and remanding for consideration of the force used during entry). 
A-0580-20 16

B.

Before analyzing the contentions raised on appeal, we briefly address

our obligation to apply the heightened constitutional guarantees afforded under 

the Constitution of New Jersey. We live in a nation governed by federal and 

state laws. As to protections against unreasonable searches and seizures, the 

texts of the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article I,

Paragraph 7 of the New Jersey Constitution are identical.14 The Fourth 

Amendment, as interpreted by the United States Supreme Court, sets forth the

minimum guarantees. No state can reduce those liberty rights, but more 

expansive constitutional protections may be afforded under state law—and 

New Jersey has done just that. In declining to adopt a Hudson exception to the 

exclusionary rule, we therefore apply the search and seizure jurisprudential 

trail already blazed under the New Jersey Constitution. We do so for four 

separate equally dispositive reasons. 

First, the United States Supreme Court has clearly recognized the 

sovereign right of each state to incorporate individual liberties "more 

14

 "The Fourth Amendment and Article I, Paragraph 7 of the State 

Constitution guarantee individuals the right to be free from unreasonable 

searches and seizures. Both provide that '[t]he right of the people to be secure 

in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and 

seizures, shall not be violated.'" Carter, 247 N.J. at 524 (quoting U.S. Const.

amend. IV; N.J. Const. art. I, ¶ 7). 
A-0580-20 17

expansive than those conferred by the Federal Constitution." Pruneyard 

Shopping Ctr. v. Robins, 447 U.S. 74, 81 (1980); see Carter, 247 N.J. at 529 

(citing Stewart G. Pollock, State Constitutions as Separate Sources of 

Fundamental Rights, 35 Rutgers L. Rev. 707 (1983) (throughout); William J. 

Brennan, Jr., State Constitutions and the Protection of Individual Rights, 90 

Harv. L. Rev. 489 (1977) (throughout); Jeffrey S. Sutton, 51 Imperfect 

Solutions: States and the Making of American Constitutional Law, 7-10, 16-21 

(2018)).

15

 Although there is dual sovereignty between the federal and state 

governments rendering each sovereign "with respect to the objects committed 

to it, and neither sovereign with respect to the objects committed to the other," 

McCulloch v. Maryland, 17 U.S. 316, 410 (1819), the governments operate in 

different spheres of authority. Ernest A. Young, The Puzzling Persistence of 

Dual Federalism, in Federalism and Subsidiarity 34, 36-38 (James E. Fleming 

& Jacob T. Levy eds., 2014)16 (citing Alpheus Thomas Mason, The Role of the 

Court, in Federalism: Infinite Variety in Theory and Practice (Valerie A. Earle 

15

 See also Judgment Calls with the Honorable David F. Levi, Episode 1: 

Judge Jeffrey Sutton, Bolch Judicial Institute Duke Law School (Jan. 17, 2020)

https://judicialstudies.duke.edu/videos-and-podcasts/judgment-calls/

(discussing the important role state constitutions play in protecting personal 

rights). 

 

16

 Available at https://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=

5365&context=faculty_scholarship.
A-0580-20 18

ed., 1968) and Anthony J. Bellia Jr., Federalism 183 (2010) (explaining "[t]he 

dual federalism paradigm understands federal and state governments to operate 

in different spheres of authority")). Thus, it is not only appropriate to apply

New Jersey's Article I, Paragraph 7 greater constitutional guarantees of 

individual liberty beyond those afforded by the Fourth Amendment, but it is 

necessary to give effect to the New Jersey Supreme Court's expansive 

interpretation of those rights under our State Constitution. 

The genius and strength of the federal system is that it provides a 

"double source of protection for the rights of our citizens." Brennan, 90 Harv. 

L. Rev, at 503. The consequence of that added protection can be—like here—

stronger state constitutional safeguards of fundamental rights. Our State 

Constitution is a separate source of liberty, and we must apply it.

Second, there is strength in diversity and competing ideas. As Justice 

Louis D. Brandeis explained, independent state supreme courts can "serve as a 

laboratory" testing their state constitutions that may better serve the people of 

those states. New State Ice Co. v. Liebmann, 285 U.S. 262, 311 (1932) (Brandeis, 

J., dissenting); see also State v. Hunt, 91 N.J. 338, 356 (2002) (Pashman, J., 

concurring) (explaining state constitutional interpretation enables a "healthy 

debate" over the interpretation of federal law). The New Jersey Supreme Court's 

well-developed search and seizure jurisprudence exemplifies this benefit. 
A-0580-20 19

Third, there are structural differences between the federal and state 

constitutions. Justice Morris Pashman pointed out that New Jersey does not 

"share the strong limitations perceived by [the United States Supreme Court] 

in its ability to enforce constitutional protections aggressively." Hunt, 91 N.J. 

at 357. The limitations come from the structure of our federal system, where the 

United States Supreme Court is the "final arbiter of at least the minimum scope of 

constitutional rights for a vastly diverse nation." Ibid. The structural differences 

enable "many important governmental roles and decisions [to be] reserved for the 

states." Ibid. As to the structural differences, the United States Constitution is a 

"grant of enumerated powers to the federal government," and our State 

Constitution "serves only to limit the sovereign power." Id. at 365. Thus, "the 

explicit affirmation of fundamental rights in our [State] Constitution can be seen as 

a guarantee of those rights and not as a restriction on them." Id. at 366. Still, 

although these differences exist, federal precedent "in areas addressed by similar 

provisions in our state constitutions can be meaningful and instructive." Id. at 363.

Fourth, our State's sound tradition and powerful precedent of providing 

greater protection against unreasonable searches and seizures than those 

guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment are particularly relevant here. Chief Justice 

Stuart Rabner recently reiterated that New Jersey's Constitution "provides 

greater protection against unreasonable searches and seizures than the Fourth 
A-0580-20 20

Amendment." Carter, 247 N.J. at 504. Indeed, our State precedent 

demonstrates multiple occasions where our Supreme Court has found—under 

Article I, Paragraph 7—that New Jersey's Constitution affords greater 

protection against unreasonable searches and seizures than the Fourth 

Amendment. 

For example, as to privacy rights, the New Jersey Supreme Court has 

interpreted our state constitutional safeguards more broadly than the United 

States Supreme Court. See id. at 504, 532 (declining to follow Heien v. North 

Carolina, 574 U.S. 54 (2014), and rejecting a reasonable mistake of law 

exception under the New Jersey Constitution); State v. Novembrino, 105 N.J. 

95, 157-58 (1987) (declining to follow United States v. Leon, 468 U.S. 897 

(1984), and rejecting a good faith exception to Article I, Paragraph 7); State v. 

Earls, 214 N.J. 564, 588 (2013) (declining to follow United States v. Jones, 

565 U.S. 400 (2012), and requiring a search warrant for cell phone location 

data); State v. Reid, 194 N.J. 386, 389 (2008) (declining to follow and extend 

the principles in Smith v. Maryland, 442 U.S. 735 (1979) and United States v. 

Miller, 425 U.S. 435 (1976), and recognizing a reasonable expectation of 

privacy in internet subscriber information); State v. McAllister, 184 N.J. 17, 

19 (2005) (declining to follow Miller, 425 U.S. at 435, and finding a 

reasonable expectation of privacy in bank records); State v. Mollica, 114 N.J. 
A-0580-20 21

329, 344-45 (1989) (declining to follow Smith, 442 U.S. 735, and finding a 

privacy interest in hotel-room telephone toll or billing records); State v. 

Johnson, 68 N.J. 349, 353-54 (1975) (declining to follow Schneckloth v. 

Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218 (1973), and requiring the State to prove that a 

person has "knowledge of the right to refuse consent" to establish consent to 

search); State v. Hempele, 120 N.J. 182, 198 (1990) (declining to follow 

California v. Greenwood, 486 U.S. 35 (1988), and concluding there is a 

reasonable expectation of privacy in opaque containers left at the curb for 

collection); Hunt, 91 N.J. at 347-49 (declining to follow Smith, 442 U.S. 735,

and finding a reasonable expectation of privacy in telephone numbers called). 

The New Jersey Supreme Court has also recognized a broader concept of

what constitutes a seizure. See State v. Tucker, 136 N.J. 158, 165 (1994) 

(declining to follow California v. Hodari D., 499 U.S. 621 (1991), and 

providing a broader definition than was found in the Fourth Amendment). 

Greater individual protections exist as to searching automobiles. See State v. 

Pierce, 136 N.J. 184, 208 (1994) (declining to follow New York v. Belton, 453 

U.S. 454 (1981), and recognizing a warrantless arrest for a motor vehicle 

offense does not authorize the search of a vehicle's passenger compartment); 

see also State v. Carty, 170 N.J. 632, 635, modified on other grounds, 174 N.J. 

351 (2002) (declining to follow Schneckloth, 412 U.S. 218, and finding that 
A-0580-20 22

there must be a reasonable and articulable suspicion of criminal wrongdoing as 

a prerequisite to requesting consent to search a vehicle after a routine stop for 

a motor vehicle violation). And New Jersey has applied a heavier burden to 

demonstrate the validity of a non-custodial consent to search. See Johnson, 68 

N.J. at 353-54. 

As we previously pointed out, importantly, "[t]his broad interpretation of 

our [S]tate [C]onstitution extends not only to the privacy rights embraced by 

N.J. Const. art. I, ¶ 7, but also to the vindication of those rights." Rodriguez, 

399 N.J. Super. at 204. Contrary to Rakas v. Illinois, 439 U.S. 128 (1978), our 

Supreme Court has recognized that an accused has automatic standing to seek 

the suppression of evidence seized in violation of N.J. Const. art. I, ¶ 7. See

State v. Brown, 216 N.J. 508, 528 (2014) (explaining that "[f]or standing

purposes, Article I, Paragraph 7 provides broader protection to the privacy 

rights of New Jersey citizens than the Fourth Amendment"); State v. Johnson, 

193 N.J. 528, 542-43 (2008); State v. Alston, 88 N.J. 211, 228 (1981). 

The New Jersey Supreme Court recently reiterated that our State 

Constitution "is a source of fundamental rights independent of the United 

States Constitution." State v. Melvin, ___ N.J. ___ (2021) (slip op. at 35) 

(citing State v. Gilmore, 103 N.J. 508, 522-23 (1986)). The Federal 

Constitution, our Supreme Court explained, "provides the floor for 
A-0580-20 23

constitutional protections, and our own Constitution affords greater protection 

for individual rights than its federal counterpart." Ibid. These principles guide 

our analysis. 

II. 

The knock-and-announce constitutional requirement and exclusionary 

rule are longstanding legal doctrines. As to the former, the manner of entry 

into a residence is significant and a critical predicate of a reasonable search 

and seizure. As to the latter, entry without prior announcement is 

constitutionally defective, and a knock-and-announce warrant violation is 

considered warrantless and presumed invalid. See State v. Goodson, 316 N.J. 

Super. 296, 305-06 (App. Div. 1998) (importantly explaining over two decades 

ago that a knock-and-announce warrant violation renders the search and 

seizure warrantless and, therefore, presumed invalid). 

A.

Knock-and-Announce Rule

There are two types of warrants police can request: a no-knock warrant17

and a knock-and-announce warrant. Here, the lead detective (the detective) 

17

 As we previously pointed out, to justify a no-knock warrant, a police 

officer, under the totality of the circumstances and based on his or her 

experience and knowledge, "must have a reasonable, particularized suspicion 

that a no-knock entry is required to prevent the destruction of evidence, to 
A-0580-20 24

specifically requested a warrant with a knock-and-announce requirement. At 

the motion to suppress hearing, the detective explained the knock-andannounce requirement he had requested meant that the police had to "knockand-announce [their] presence [before] enter[ing]" the apartment. Relying on 

the detective's affidavit, a judge issued the warrant, which explicitly directed 

them to enter by "first knocking and identifying the officers as police officers 

and the purpose for being at the premises."18 

The detective, who conceded that there were no exigent circumstances to 

justify ignoring the requirement, admitted that when he arrived at the front 

door with two other officers, they did not knock and announce their presence, 

they opened the unlocked door, and then entered. At that point, one of the 

officers said "hello," which the judge found was said in a "normal tone," and 

Caronna replied, "Babe?" The police inexplicably remained silent and did not 

respond to "Babe?" Although they could have announced they were police 

protect the officer's safety, or to effectuate the arrest or seizure of evidence." 

Johnson, 168 N.J. 608, 619 (2001); see also Robinson, 200 N.J. at 14. The 

police here did not request a no-knock warrant. 

 

18

 If a judge issues a search warrant with a knock-and-announce requirement, 

officers can ignore the requirement to knock and announce if exigent 

circumstances exist. Johnson, 168 N.J. at 621; State v. Fair, 45 N.J. 77, 86 

(1965). But as the State concedes, no exigent circumstances existed and there 

was no justification for the violation of the warrant's knock-and-announce 

requirement.

 
A-0580-20 25

officers and were there to search the apartment, they climbed the stairs and 

entered her bedroom. Before identifying themselves, one officer said to 

Caronna "How are you doing, what's going on?"

19

 She was disoriented by the 

encounter. They then announced for the first time they were police officers 

and were there to execute the warrant. 

The origins of the idea that law enforcement officers knock and 

announce their presence before entering a dwelling can be traced to around the 

time of the Magna Carta. Wilson, 514 U.S. at 932 n. 2. Clearly, it predates 

state and federal constitutions. The rule was pronounced about 400 years ago 

in Semayne's Case, 77 Eng. Rep. 194 (K.B. 1603); see also Miller v. United 

States, 357 U.S. 301, 308 (1958) (referring to Semayne's Case and explaining 

that "the breaking [into a dwelling] was unlawful where the officer failed first 

to state his authority and purpose for demanding admission"). 

Like New Jersey, the United States Supreme Court has recognized "that 

the reasonableness of a search of a dwelling may depend in part on whether 

19

 At our request, the assistant prosecutor provided to all counsel, amici, and 

the Clerk of the Appellate Division a disc of recordings from the body cameras 

worn by the officers depicting the arrest of Collado and their entry into 

Caronna's apartment. The disc was marked S-1 into evidence at the motion to 

suppress hearing. The detective narrated part of S-1 during the hearing, 

including up to the point where they entered the bedroom and announced their 

presence. At the hearing, the assistant prosecutor remarked to counsel and the 

motion judge "I have no objection to watch[ing] more of [S-1]." 
A-0580-20 26

law enforcement officers announce[] their presence and authority prior to 

entering," and "that the method of an officer's entry into a dwelling 'is an 

element of the reasonableness inquiry under the Fourth Amendment.'" State v. 

Johnson, 168 N.J. at 616 (quoting Wilson, 514 U.S. at 931, 934). Hudson did 

not change this bedrock principle. The rationale undergirding the knock-andannounce rule is compelling. One commentator put it this way: 

The constitutional requirement of announcement 

serves a number of most worthwhile purposes: (i) 

"decreasing the potential for violence"; (ii) "protection 

of privacy"; and (iii) "preventing the physical 

destruction of property." As to the first of these, it has 

been cogently noted that an "unannounced breaking 

and entering into a home could quite easily lead an 

individual to believe that his safety was in peril and 

cause him to take defensive measures which he 

otherwise would not have taken had he known that a 

warrant had been issued to search his home." As to 

the second, notice minimizes the chance of entry of 

the wrong premises by mistake and the consequent 

subjecting of innocent persons to "the shock, fright or 

embarrassment attendant upon an unannounced police 

intrusion." . . . The third purpose is equally valid, for 

quite obviously a person should ordinarily "be allowed 

the opportunity to voluntarily admit the officer into 

his home" instead of suffering damage to his property.

[Johnson, 168 N.J. at 616 (alteration in original)

(quoting 2 Wayne R. LaFave, Search and Seizure § 

4.8(a) at 599-600 (4th ed. 1984) (footnotes omitted)).]

The constitutional requirement of announcement, therefore, serves 

worthwhile purposes for hundreds of years that cannot be subject to "erosion 
A-0580-20 27

by indifference or contempt." Hudson, 547 U.S. at 603 (Kennedy, J. 

concurring). The requirement is essential because of the potential for violence 

and the safety of law enforcement and occupants as the officers enter the 

dwelling; it protects important privacy interests; and it prevents physical 

destruction to property. In New Jersey, the manner of entry into a residence 

is—and has been—a significant and critical predicate of a reasonable search 

and seizure. See Goodson, 316 N.J. Super. at 305-06. 

B.

Exclusionary Rule 

The core purpose of the exclusionary rule is "deterrence of future 

unlawful police conduct." State v. Shannon, 222 N.J. 576, 597 (2015). The 

United States Supreme Court first applied the exclusionary rule in Weeks v. 

United States, 232 U.S. 383, 398 (1914). In later holding that the exclusionary 

rule is applicable to the states through the Due Process Clause of the 

Fourteenth Amendment, the United States Supreme Court noted the 

exclusionary rule is "a clear, specific, and constitutionally required—even if 

judicially implied—deterrent safeguard without insistence upon which the 

Fourth Amendment would have been reduced to a form of words." Mapp, 367 

U.S. at 648 (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). 
A-0580-20 28

The Court recognized that the purpose of the exclusionary rule "is to 

deter—to compel respect for the constitutional guaranty in the only effectively 

available way—by removing the incentive to disregard it." Id. at 656 (quoting 

Elkins v. United States, 364 U.S. 206, 217 (1960) (emphasizing "[t]he 

[exclusionary] rule is calculated to prevent, not to repair" constitutional 

violations)). Since Mapp, the United States Supreme Court pared back 

application of the exclusionary rule. See Shannon, 222 N.J. at 598-99 

(compiling examples). New Jersey jurisprudence has not taken the same 

approach and has instead recognized that the exclusionary rule serves an 

important purpose in New Jersey beyond deterring police from constitutional 

violations. 

The exclusionary rule not only deters constitutional violations, but also 

provides an "indispensable mechanism for vindicating the constitutional right 

to be free from unreasonable searches." Carter, 247 N.J. at 530 (quoting 

Novembrino, 105 N.J. at 157-58). Indeed, Justice Lee Solomon explained that 

"[w]ith some exception, in the fifty-four years since this Court first addressed 

the exclusionary rule in State v. Valentin, 36 N.J. 41 [] (1961), our courts have 

resisted the federal trend towards erosion of the exclusionary rule." Shannon, 

222 N.J. at 600-01. The exclusionary rule "uphold[s] judicial integrity" by 

informing the public that "our courts will not provide a forum for evidence 
A-0580-20 29

procured by unconstitutional means." State v. Williams, 192 N.J. 1, 14 (2007). 

The suppression of evidence "sends the strongest possible message that 

constitutional misconduct will not be tolerated and therefore is intended to 

encourage fidelity to the law." Ibid. We do not apply the rule 

indiscriminately. State v. Hamlett, 449 N.J. Super. 159, 177 (App. Div. 2017) 

(explaining that New Jersey courts apply the exclusionary rule "only to 

evidence obtained in violation of a defendant's constitutional rights"). 

"Suppression of evidence . . . has always been our last resort, not our first 

impulse." State v. Presley, 436 N.J. Super. 440, 459 (App. Div. 2014) 

(quoting State v. Gioe, 401 N.J. Super. 331, 339 (App. Div. 2008)). We apply 

the exclusionary rule when the benefits of deterrence outweigh its substantial 

costs. Gioe, 401 N.J. Super. at 339. 

III.

With that background in place, we now turn to the heart of this appeal: 

whether the exclusionary rule should be applied to ensure the continued 

protection of the broad safeguards against unreasonable searches and seizures 

guaranteed by Article I, Paragraph 7 where police unjustifiably violate a 

knock-and-announce requirement contained in a search warrant. 
A-0580-20 30

A.

The State argues that, under the circumstances presented here, the 

exclusionary rule need not be applied to protect the constitutional guarantees 

against unreasonable searches and seizures contained in Article I, Paragraph 7 

and the Fourth Amendment. It maintains that "[t]here are other means to 

address improper police behavior short of excluding legally seized evidence." 

The State requests that we adopt Justice Scalia's reasoning in Hudson and that 

we not follow Johnson, which it asserts is distinguishable and pre-Hudson. 

The State acknowledges that "police accountability and reform are currently in 

the political and legal forefront," and points out that the New Jersey AG 

announced in June 2020 he was "ending the long-standing practice of shielding 

the identities of law enforcement officers who receive major discipline or 

misconduct." Therefore, the State contends that deterring violations of the 

knock-and-announce requirement will be realized by police transparency and 

accountability, and maintains suppression is unwarranted. The State further 

contends that because the police had probable cause to search the apartment, 

the violation is too attenuated to suppress the drugs; that is, the illegal manner 

of entry was not the but-for cause of obtaining the evidence. 

The AG contends the suppression of evidence was "counterproductive" 

because the officers would have eventually seized the evidence if they had 
A-0580-20 31

acted legally and complied with the knock-and-announce requirement. The 

AG argues that the evidence seized is not the fruit of the poisonous tree, and 

even if it is, in the knock-and-announce context, the exclusionary rule is 

"unlikely to deter undesirable police conduct." The AG agrees with the State 

that to deter knock-and-announce violations, victims of these violations can 

bring civil suits against the officers seeking money damages or they can pursue 

disciplinary charges with IA. 

But the AG asserts that the best remedy for a knock-and-announce 

violation is civil damages against the officers because they provide restitution 

to "innocent people whose interests have been violated by officers' execution 

of a warrant in an improper manner." The AG argues that civil suits will 

incentivize police departments to "train their officers properly" if "state[]and[]

local governments and individual officers [are forced] to pay for police 

wrongdoing."20 Citing out-of-state cases,

21 the AG contends further that the 

20

 Here, there is no suggestion that the officers were improperly trained. The 

lead detective who requested a warrant containing the knock-and-announce 

requirement and who was at the front door himself, testified that he knew they 

had to comply with the warrant mandate by knocking-and-announcing their 

presence. 

 

21

 E.g., Trent v. Wade, 776 F.3d 368, 383 (5th Cir. 2015). 
A-0580-20 32

defense of qualified immunity will be unavailable to officers because the 

knock-and-announce rule is a "'clearly established' right."22 

The AG asserts that compensatory damages against officers can be 

supplemented by punitive damages to "deter police misconduct." As to 

disciplinary actions, the AG acknowledges that Justice Scalia's reference to 

reforms in the training of police officers seemed "conclusory," but on this 

point, the AG produced for us secondary sources from 2011 and 2013 

suggesting that police chiefs around the country believe internal discipline is a 

greater deterrent to knock-and-announce violations than suppression of 

evidence. 

Defendants argue that the officers' manner of entry into the apartment 

must be considered when evaluating the reasonableness of the search. They 

maintain that the officers' unjustified violation of the knock-and-announce 

requirement makes the search unreasonable and that Article I, Paragraph 7 

provides stronger safeguards against unreasonable searches and seizures. They 

say it is objectively unreasonable for officers to ignore a search warrant 

directing them to knock and announce their presence before entering a 

22

 Whether a victim of an unlawful entry into a residence can overcome the 

defense of qualified immunity is not before us. The sole legal question here 

pertains to the propriety of suppressing drugs seized after a constitutionally 

defective, unjustified, and objectively unreasonable violation of a knock-andannounce warrant. 
A-0580-20 33

dwelling. Defendants also contend the illegality of the entry and subsequent 

search is attributed solely to the police violation, which defendants emphasize 

the officers here could have easily avoided since there were no exigent 

circumstances or other reasons to justify the violation. Defendants argue 

suppression of the evidence deters police from violating the warrant, which 

will promote the compelling laudatory reasons for the knock-and-announce 

rule and upholds Article I, Paragraph 7's guarantee against unreasonable 

searches and seizures. They conclude the seized evidence is the fruit of the 

poisonous tree. 

The ACLU emphasizes two critical roles of the exclusionary rule: 

deterring police misconduct and vindicating the rights of those who fall victim 

to that misconduct. It argues that exempting knock-and-announce violations

from the exclusionary rule encourages disobedience of judicial orders to the 

detriment of the privacy rights, property rights, and safety of our citizens. The 

ACLU further contends the exclusionary rule applies to unreasonable entries

for three reasons: it effectively deters police from performing unreasonable 

searches and seizures, unlike the State's referenced remedies of civil rights 

actions or disciplinary charges; it serves laudatory purposes beyond deterrence, 

such as protecting against unreasonable searches; and, without the 

exclusionary rule, the Court's previous rejection of a good-faith exception to 
A-0580-20 34

the warrant requirement would amount to an absurd result: it is illogical to 

reject the exclusionary rule when police act in good faith, but then impose a 

Hudson exception when the police knowingly ignore the warrant mandate 

without justification. 

The ACDL-NJ asserts suppression of the evidence is the only remedy for 

knock-and-announce violations in New Jersey. The ACDL-NJ argues that 

suppression protects important existing rights and policies; the police here 

acted unlawfully; and Hudson does not govern the interpretation of Article I, 

Paragraph 7. Instead, it argues that Johnson, 168 N.J. 608 is the controlling 

precedent interpreting the application of exclusionary rule to a violation of a 

knock-and-announce requirement, and it requires suppression. The ACDL-NJ 

contends that potential civil rights suits or disciplinary charges will not deter 

police from knock-and-announce violations. A civil lawsuit will take years to 

litigate, consume enormous resources for minimal rewards, and most likely 

will be handled by pro se victims because monetary damages are nominal. 

According to the ACDL-NJ, IA disciplinary charges are also unworkable 

because "police do not adequately police themselves."23 As to the importance 

23

 Caronna argues a Department of Justice investigation into alleged police 

misconduct revealed hundreds of violations leading to the creation of a 

Civilian Complaint Review Board (CCRB) in the City of Newark. But 

Caronna contends that because the CCRB is without subpoena power and is 
A-0580-20 35

of the knock-and-announce requirement and the need to protect lives, the 

ACDL-NJ—and defendants—point to the tragic death of Breonna Taylor in

2020.

24

 Finally, eliminating suppression as a remedy effectively minimizes the 

requirement in the warrant to knock and announce their presence. 

Although Hudson was decided fifteen years ago, our Supreme Court "has 

not embraced Hudson's approach to date." State v. Rockford, 213 N.J. 424, 

461 (2013) (LaVecchia, J., dissenting). In Johnson, a pre-Hudson case, the 

Court noted that "[o]ur State jurisprudence generally has mirrored federal case 

law in respect of the knock-and-announce rule," 168 N.J. at 617, and assumed 

that suppression would be the appropriate remedy under both the federal and 

state constitutions, id. at 622-23, 625-26. See also Rodriguez, 399 N.J. Super. 

at 192 (strongly opining that Hudson should not be adopted in this state).

unable to investigate civilian complaints simultaneously while IA investigates, 

Fraternal Order of Police, Newark Lodge No. 12 v. City of Newark, 244 N.J. 

75, 80-81, 89 (2020), "internal discipline" and "citizen review" do not 

withstand reasonable scrutiny and cannot, therefore, act as a meaningful 

deterrent to the police conduct here. 

24 See Jelani Jefferson Exum, Presumed Punishable: Sentencing on the Streets 

and the Need to Protect Black Lives Through a Reinvigoration of the 

Presumption of Innocence, 64 How. L.J. 301, 339-46 (2021) (describing the 

factual circumstances of Breonna Taylor's death); Richard A. Oppel Jr., 

Derrick Bryson Taylor, and Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, What to Know About 

Breonna Taylor's Death, N.Y. Times (Apr. 26, 2021), 

https://www.nytimes.com/article/breonna-taylor-police.html (the same).
A-0580-20 36

B.

Applying New Jersey law, we hold that the exclusionary rule bars the 

admission of evidence seized following an unjustifiable entry into a dwelling 

in violation of a knock-and-announce requirement contained in a search 

warrant. 

(1)

(i)

Under our State Constitution, as interpreted by the Supreme Court of 

New Jersey, "the inquiry into the reasonableness of a residential search entails 

scrutiny of the steps taken by officers to enter and search a home." Rockford, 

213 N.J. at 441 (citing Johnson, 168 N.J. at 616) (emphasis added). Our 

Supreme Court has held that if the police action in executing a warrant is 

objectively reasonable, then there is no constitutional violation. Ibid. It is 

settled that in evaluating the constitutionality of police conduct in executing a 

warrant, "the basic test under . . . Article I, Paragraph 7, of the New Jersey 

Constitution is . . . was the [police] conduct objectively reasonable in light of 

'the facts known to the law enforcement officer at the time of the search.'" 

State v. Handy, 206 N.J. 39, 46-47 (2011) (emphasis added) (quoting State v. 

Bruzzese, 94 N.J. 210, 221 (1983)).
A-0580-20 37

Under the facts of this case, where there is no justification for violating 

the warrant requirement mandating that the officers knock and announce their 

presence, we conclude the entry was objectively unreasonable, rendering the 

search and seizure constitutionally defective. See Wilson, 514 U.S. at 936 

(acknowledging circumstances that make entry without prior announcement 

constitutionally defective); Fair, 45 N.J. at 86-87 (same); see also Goodson, 

316 N.J. Super. at 305-06 (stating that a knock-and-announce warrant violation 

renders the search and seizure warrantless and, therefore, presumed invalid).

The motion judge's findings are supported by substantial credible 

evidence. The police applied for and received the search warrant to search the 

apartment. Collado was the target of the warrant after police orchestrated 

three controlled buys between him and a confidential informant, two of which 

Collado conducted from the apartment. In December, around 4:30 to 5:00

p.m., the officers saw Collado about fifty yards from the apartment. When 

they approached him, Collado told the officers "I don't live around here." 

They detained him on the spot and proceeded to execute the warrant. The 

judge found that the police had reason to believe that Caronna resided in the 

apartment because her driver's license had the same address as the apartment 

building. When they arrived at the front door it was closed and unlocked. The 

judge found: 
A-0580-20 38

The police then just . . . opened the door. They did 

not – there's no dispute that they did not knock on the 

door first, nor did they announce their presence before 

they . . . opened the door and entered [the two-story 

apartment]. 

. . . . 

[A]fter they entered through the door, one of the

[o]fficers . . . in a normal tone [(based on the judge 

hearing the video from the body camera)] said once

hello. . . . [Caronna said "Babe?"] [The] police 

climbed the staircase [to the second floor of the 

apartment and] observed the co-defendant Caronna . . . 

in her bedroom. 

. . . . 

[T]he risk of harm . . . was actually exacerbated by the 

police only saying [hello] once in a normal tone as 

they entered the residence . . . . There was [no 

evidence] that the police made any reasonable person 

believe that [they] were entering the structure or for 

what [] purpose. 

. . . . 

The police could not know if someone else occupied 

[the apartment] or, in fact, who was the lawful 

occupant of the residence. 

. . . .

They never did any independent investigation to 

find out who was actually the lawful occupant of the 

residence when they knew [Collado] had . . . a 

different address [than the apartment]. [And] they 

knew [Caronna's] license [listed the apartment 

building] . . . [and] that the police knew or should 
A-0580-20 39

have known that [Caronna] was a potential lawful 

occupant of [the apartment]. 

. . . . 

[T]here was no legal justification for the police to 

enter the [apartment] in the manner in which they 

did.25 

The judge found, and it is conceded, that there was no evidence that the police 

were in any danger and that there was no exigency justifying ignoring the 

knock-and-announce requirement. Hence, their conduct was not objectively 

reasonable, it constituted a flagrant violation of the search warrant's knockand-announce requirement, and the subsequent search and seizure are 

constitutionally defective. 

(ii)

The police ignored the court-ordered search warrant requirement to 

knock-and-announce their presence. The terms of the issued warrant must be 

"strictly respected." Rockford, 213 N.J. at 441. A search warrant containing a 

knock-and-announce requirement does not authorize police—absent exigent 

circumstances—to ignore the obligation to knock and announce their presence 

before entering the dwelling. Ignoring the requirement—like under the facts 

25

 The detective testified he had a battering ram and police shield with him,

but admitted that the police utilized neither, which further supports the State's 

concession that there were no exigencies warranting or justifying the manner 

of entry into the apartment. 
A-0580-20 40

of this case—"could lead to the unreasonable execution of the judicially 

authorized warrant." Id. at 453-54 (LaVecchia, J., dissenting). Therefore, the 

method of entry into the dwelling is an important factor to consider when 

evaluating the reasonableness of police action and the applicability of the 

exclusionary rule. See Johnson, 168 N.J. at 616 (excluding evidence secured 

by a no-knock entry where such means of entry had not been authorized by the 

warrant-issuing court, noting the importance of the longstanding principle that 

"the method of an officer's entry into a dwelling is an 'element of the 

reasonableness inquiry'") (quoting Wilson, 514 U.S. at 934).

(2)

The exclusionary rule is the proper remedy. It effectively deters against 

unconstitutional, unreasonable, and illegal searches and seizures, and 

importantly, suppression protects against violations of the rights of New Jersey 

citizens and upholds the rule of law and integrity of our judicial system. In 

reaching this conclusion, we do not apply the rule indiscriminately. Instead, 

we have applied the exclusionary rule because the benefits of deterrence 

outweigh its substantial costs. It deters unlawful, flagrant police conduct; 

compels respect for the constitutional guaranty against unreasonable searches 

and seizures by removing the incentive to disregard the knock-and-announce 

rule; it vindicates the constitutional right to be free from unreasonable 
A-0580-20 41

searches; and it upholds judicial integrity by informing the public that our 

courts will not provide a forum for evidence procured by unconstitutional 

means. The New Jersey Constitution—at its core—stands for "critical 

principles such as the rule of law and equal justice under the law." Carter, 247 

N.J. at 531.

We reach this conclusion by emphasizing that we "serve the criminal 

justice system best by enforcing clear and uniform rules whenever appropriate 

under the circumstances." Johnson, 168 N.J. at 623 (citing State v. Lark, 163 

N.J. 294, 297 (2000)). Unlike under the Fourth Amendment, as interpreted by 

the United States Supreme Court, the Supreme Court of New Jersey, applying 

our own Constitution, recently declined adoption of a mistake of law exception 

to the exclusionary rule, see Carter, 247 N.J at 532, and has long since 

declined adoption of a good faith exception to the exclusionary rule, see

Novembrino, 105 N.J. at 157-58. It did so mindful of the high price extracted 

by suppression of evidence. We likewise decline to adopt a Hudson exception 

to the exclusionary rule. 

The knock-and-announce rule protects "human life and limb, because an 

unannounced entry may provoke violence in supposed self-defense by the 

surprised resident." Hudson, 547 U.S. at 594. Suffice it to say that the rule 

safeguards against violence to occupants of the residence, and importantly, 
A-0580-20 42

likewise protects police officers themselves. In this instance, the officers 

could have knocked and announced their presence; fortunately, there were no 

injuries. 

Any other remedy undermines the practical longstanding values of the 

constitutional knock-and-announce protection and the dual purposes of the 

exclusionary rule: to deter police misconduct and vindicate the constitutional 

right to be free from unreasonable searches. Given our historically consistent 

expansive interpretation of the protections afforded under Article I, Paragraph 

7, like in Novembrino and Carter, we decline to carve out an exception to the 

exclusionary rule. 

We need not look further than the facts of this case to show the 

ineffectiveness of the remedies proposed by the State and AG. The officers 

knew or should have known that a victim of such a violation could file a

Section 1983 civil suit against them. Indeed, as the AG pointed out, the 

knock-and-announce rule is a "clearly established" right. But the police 

violated the rule anyway. They must have also known that a victim of the 

violation could bring a civilian complaint seeking disciplinary charges. But 

they violated the rule anyway. And, finally, two of the officers wore body 

cameras. And they violated the rule anyway. 
A-0580-20 43

Notably, Justice Scalia found that in addition to the substantial social 

costs in excluding relevant incriminating evidence, application of the 

exclusionary rule to a "knock-and-announce violation would generate a 

constant flood of alleged failures to observe the rule." Hudson, 547 U.S. at 

595. However, with the expanded use of body cameras post-Hudson,

violations of the knock and announce rule, as in this case, can be readily 

determined and would not require extensive litigation.26

IV.

Finally, no exceptions to the exclusionary rule apply here. We nevertheless 

address the inapplicability of the inevitable discovery, independent source, and 

attenuation doctrines. Given the flagrant conduct here, application of these 

exceptions would contravene the rule of law and the integrity of New Jersey's 

judicial system by implicitly condoning unreasonable searches and seizures. 

A.

(1)

The inevitable discovery doctrine generally permits admission of evidence 

resulting from an illegal search where the prosecution can show that it would have 

discovered the evidence "had no illegality occurred." State v. Sugar, 100 N.J. 214, 

26

 Indeed, the body cameras here served a valuable purpose of documenting 

the violation. 
A-0580-20 44

238 (1985) (Sugar II). Its purpose is to "prevent[ ] the prosecution from being in a 

better position than if the illegal conduct had not taken place" rather than to 

"punish the prosecution by putting it in a worse place." State v. Camey, 239 N.J. 

282, 302 (2019) (citing Sugar II, 100 N.J. at 237). The State must demonstrate 

that: 

(1) proper, normal and specific investigatory procedures 

would have been pursued in order to complete the 

investigation of the case; (2) under all the surrounding 

relevant circumstances the pursuit of those procedures 

would have inevitably resulted in the discovery of the 

evidence; and (3) the discovery of the evidence through 

the use of such procedures would have occurred wholly 

independently of the discovery of such evidence by 

unlawful means.

[Sugar II, 100 N.J. at 238.]

The State is not required "[to] demonstrate the exact circumstances of the 

evidence's discovery." Camey, 239 N.J. at 302 (quoting State v. Maltese, 222 N.J. 

525, 552 (2015)). "[T]he State need only present facts or elements—proving each 

such fact or element by a preponderance of the evidence—that in combination 

clearly and convincingly establish the ultimate fact and lead to the conclusion that 

the evidence would be inevitably discovered." Ibid. (quoting State v. Sugar, 

108 N.J. 151, 159 (1987) (Sugar III)).
A-0580-20 45

(2)

The independent source doctrine, which is related to the inevitable discovery 

doctrine, "allows admission of evidence that has been discovered by means wholly 

independent of any constitutional violation." State v. Holland, 176 N.J. 344, 348 

(2003) (quoting Nix v. Williams, 467 U.S. 431, 443 (1984)). The doctrine has 

three prongs:

First, the State must demonstrate that probable cause 

existed to conduct the challenged search without the 

unlawfully obtained information. It must make that 

showing by relying on factors wholly independent 

from the knowledge, evidence, or other information 

acquired as a result of the prior illegal search. 

Second, the State must demonstrate in accordance 

with an elevated standard of proof, namely, by clear 

and convincing evidence, that the police would have 

sought a warrant without the tainted knowledge or 

evidence that they previously had acquired or viewed. 

Third, regardless of the strength of their proofs under 

the first and second prongs, [the State] must 

demonstrate by the same enhanced standard that the 

initial impermissible search was not the product of 

flagrant police misconduct.

[Id. at 360-61 (emphasis added).] 

The State must establish all three prongs by clear and convincing evidence, and its 

failure to satisfy any one prong will result in suppression. Id. at 362. 

(3)

The attenuation doctrine provides generally that if the seizure of evidence is 

so attenuated from unconstitutional police conduct that the taint from the unlawful 
A-0580-20 46

conduct is sufficiently purged, then the exclusionary rule will not apply. State v. 

Shaw, 213 N.J. 398, 414 (2012). In other words, "but-for cause, or 'causation in 

the logical sense alone,' can be too attenuated to justify exclusion." Hudson, 547 

U.S. at 592 (internal citations omitted) (quoting United States v. Ceccolini, 435 

U.S. 268, 274 (1978)). The State bears the burden of proving attenuation. In Int.

of J.A., 233 N.J. 432, 457 (2018) (citing Brown v. Illinois, 422 U.S. 590, 604 

(1975)). To determine whether seized evidence is sufficiently attenuated from 

police misconduct, we generally look to three factors: "(1) 'the temporal proximity' 

between the illegal conduct and the challenged evidence; (2) 'the presence of 

intervening circumstances'; and (3) 'particularly, the purpose and flagrancy of the 

official misconduct.'" Shaw, 213 N.J. at 415 (quoting Brown, 422 U.S. at 602-04) 

(emphasis added). 

B. 

Of these three exceptions, the State has not explicitly relied on the 

independent source doctrine. And that is not surprising. It cannot demonstrate by 

any means—let alone by clear and convincing proof—that the initial impermissible 

illegal entry into the apartment was not the product of flagrant police misconduct; 

that is, their unlawful and unreasonable manner of entry into the apartment without 

any justification whatsoever. 
A-0580-20 47

The State argues the exclusionary rule is inapplicable, not because an 

exception to that rule applies, but rather, because less harsh remedies (wearing 

body cameras, subjecting police to Section 1983 actions, and the threat of 

disciplinary proceedings) will deter police from this misconduct. Nevertheless, the 

State and AG suggest that the illegal entry into the apartment was not the "but-for" 

cause of obtaining the drugs. In other words, they contend that the seizure of the 

drugs was too attenuated from the police conduct. This suggestion implicitly 

implicates the doctrines of inevitable discovery and attenuation.

We emphasize, contrary to the State's contention, that demonstrating 

probable cause for the issuance of a search warrant containing a knock-andannounce rule does not obviate the obligation to comply with the warrant mandate 

or application of the exclusionary rule. As we pointed out, an unjustified knockand-announce violation essentially renders the search and seizure warrantless, see

Goodson, 316 N.J. Super. at 305-06, and therefore it is presumed invalid. Even if 

no such presumption of invalidity existed, the exclusionary rule would still apply. 

This is especially due to the flagrant police conduct of inexplicably initially 

ignoring the mandate that they knock and announce, and then the further conduct 

of not responding to "Babe?" and later saying to Caronna, "How you doing, what's 

going on?" before they finally indicated they were police and there to search the 

apartment. In addition to contending that the violation did not cause the seizure of 
A-0580-20 48

evidence, the State argues that the violation cannot invalidate the search because 

probable cause existed for the issuance of the warrant. But in our view, separating 

the "manner of entry" from the related search slices the admitted violation too 

finely. 

In determining the applicability of the inevitable discovery doctrine to 

an unjustified entry into a dwelling, our courts have previously considered the 

flagrancy of the illegal conduct. The police should not "profit" from a flagrant 

disregard of the knock-and-announce requirement. State v. Herrera, 211 N.J. 

308, 330 (2012). For example, in State v. Chaney, 318 N.J. Super. 217, 226-

27 (App, Div. 1999), we rejected suppression of evidence because the entry 

did not "constitute[] such flagrant police misconduct." In Chaney, there was 

therefore no need to deter "similar future violations of constitutional rights." 

Id. at 227. And by distinguishing Chaney, Judge Edwin H. Stern noted—while 

rejecting application of the inevitable discovery doctrine—that a warrantless 

entry into a dwelling was, in part, due to the unjustified forcible method of 

entry. See State v. Lashley, 353 N.J. Super. 405, 411-13 (App. Div. 2002). 

Accordingly, considering the clear disregard of the police in this case for the 

court-mandated knock-and-announce requirement, we reject application of the 

inevitable discovery exception to the exclusionary rule. 
A-0580-20 49

Furthermore, the causal connection between the conceded police illegality 

(unjustifiably ignoring the knock-and-announce requirement in the warrant without 

justification) and the seizure of the drugs is not attenuated. First, there is no 

temporal break between the illegal police conduct of violating the knock-andannounce requirement in the warrant and the seizure of the drugs. The police 

walked up to the front door, opened the unlocked door without knocking or 

announcing their presence, then seized the drugs immediately after encountering 

Caronna in bed. That is undisputed.

Second, there are no intervening circumstances whatsoever that break the 

unconstitutional chain of causation. As we previously pointed out, the manner of 

entry into a dwelling—such as, like here, entry without knocking and 

announcing—is an element of the reasonableness that must be and has been a 

necessary inquiry under the New Jersey Constitution that can render a warrant 

constitutionally defective. See Goodson, 316 N.J. Super. at 305-06.

Third, the purpose and flagrancy of the official misconduct is uncontested by 

the parties and is particularly troublesome given our State's constitutionallyenhanced liberty safeguards, and the objectives underlying the exclusionary rule 

and the knock-and-announce requirement. The rule does more than protect against 

violence and property damage, although both protections are substantial. It 

protects the occupant's privacy—a tradition inculcated in Anglo-American law 
A-0580-20 50

reflecting "the reverence of the law for the individual's right to privacy in his [or

her] house." See Miller, 357 U.S. at 313. Individual privacy interests are not 

inconsequential. 

Thus, utilizing the improperly seized evidence would contravene the 

exclusionary rule's purposes of (1) deterring clear illegal police conduct and 

(2) serving as an "indispensable mechanism for vindicating the constitutional 

right to be free from unreasonable searches." Carter, 247 N.J. at 530 (quoting 

Novembrino, 105 N.J. at 157 (explaining that admitting the evidence implicitly 

endorses unconstitutional conduct)); see United States v. Calandra, 414 U.S. 

338, 357 (1974) (Brennan, J., dissenting) (explaining that "[t]he exclusionary 

rule . . . accomplished the twin goals of enabling the judiciary to avoid the 

taint of partnership in official lawlessness and of assuring the people—all 

potential victims of unlawful government conduct—that the government would 

not profit from its lawless behavior"); see also Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 13 

(1968) (explaining that "admitting evidence in a criminal trial . . . has the 

necessary effect of legitimizing the conduct which produced the evidence, 

while an application of the exclusionary rule withholds constitutional 

imprimatur").

The integrity of our court system is threatened, in part, by allowing 

admission of evidence obtained in flagrant violation of the Constitution. See
A-0580-20 51

Herring v. United States, 555 U.S. 135, 152-53 (Ginsburg, J., dissenting) 

(explaining that "to maintain respect for law [and] to preserve the judicial 

process from contamination," courts should not provide implicit aid to 

constitutional violations) (internal quotation mark omitted) (quoting Olmstead 

v. United States, 277 U.S. 438, 484 (1928) (Brandeis, J., dissenting)). This is 

in line with our Court's assertion that judicial integrity is not the sole reason 

for utilizing the exclusionary rule, but "in particular cases 'judicial integrity' 

may be threatened by certain kinds of police misconduct and itself would 

justify application of the [exclusionary] rule." Novembrino, 105 N.J. at 167 

(Handler, J., concurring). But see Presley, 436 N.J. Super. at 460 (explaining 

that New Jersey courts will decline to apply the exclusionary rule when it 

would not advance its purposes of "deterrence, judicial integrity, and imposing 

a cost on illicit behavior—and would disserve the process of doing justice in 

this state by preventing the introduction of reliable and relevant evidence in a 

criminal prosecution. Use of that evidence in this state will not offend the 

integrity of our judicial process") (quoting State v. Evers, 175 N.J. 355, 380 

(2003)). 

To summarize, the method of an officer's entry into a dwelling is an element 

of the reasonableness inquiry under Article I, Paragraph 7, and the New Jersey 

Constitution. It is an important factor to consider when evaluating the 
A-0580-20 52

reasonableness of police action, the guarantee against unreasonable searches and 

seizures, and the applicability of the exclusionary rule. Where there is no 

justification for violating the warrant requirement mandating that they knock and

announce their presence—such as exigent circumstances—the illegal and 

objectively unreasonable entry renders the search and seizure constitutionally 

defective. Under the facts of this case, application of the exclusionary rule is 

required to enforce the broad protections against unreasonable searches and 

seizures guaranteed by Article I, Paragraph 7. 

Affirmed.