Camas Prairie chronicle. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1901-1917, 1915-12-03
MANS HOME is
| HIS CASTLE
Attorrey-Ceneral Holds that
Search and Seizure Law is
For Use When Liquor Traf-
ficing is Evident.

Boise, Idaho, Nov. 26. Be-
cause of numerous inquiries as to
the duty of peace officers and
nrosecutors in enforcing the new
I;nuor law to go into effect in this
state the first of the year and
commonly referred to as senate
hill No. so, Acknowledgement
Peterson has issued a statement
hearing upon the search of pri-
waite residences in which he de-
|clares that no such search could
be legally made unless there were
advance evidence of violation of
the law and that any, search
warrant attemptedsto.. be issued
hinder these circumstances would
be legal nullity and Ewould af-
ford no protection to the officer
acting Hereunder" The attor-
ney-general's 'statement in. part
His as follows:
U This inquiry has raised a very
\ grave and serious question
Throughout the entire state, and
Hit is for.the purpose ssof giving
such officers the benefit of what
l conceive to be the law and a.
n voiding future legal entangle-
ments, and PERHAPS personal vio-
lence, that l feel impelled to give
&my views in the matter this pub
licity.
Senate bill so makes the pos
session of intoxicating liquor in
the state OF. Idaho a misdemean-
or, and there is no. question but
what this possession extends to a
private residence as we'll as a
place of business.
1.-THE question naturally recurs,
therefore, whether an officer in
/ the preparation of a case might
apply to a magistrate to issue a
search warrant for the purpose
Of searching a private residence
to procure evidence of the illegal
possession of liquor, in the alb
sence of any showing of the ille-
gal sale of such liquor in or from
such residence.
Senate bill so provides (Sec.
23) that the provisions of chapter
10, session laws of 1911, are here
by specifically extended to and
made applicable in the enforce
ment of this act. Chapter Is, re-
terred to, is what is known in
this state as the search and seiz-
ure act and was intended to make
effective the liquor law of the
state as enacted at that time.
This act provided, among
other things, for the issuance Of
search warrants, but solely fol
the purpose of searching premise:
where evidence was at hanC
showing that Intoxicating liquor
was being illegally disposed o.
therein, and had no reference tt
the question of the possession O
intoxicating liquor in a private
residence which was not being
sold or illegally disposed of.
1T would seem, therefore, tina
In specifically re-enacting thi
portion of the 1911 law, and max
Ing no direct provision for tn
issuance of search warrants TO
searching residences where NJ
evidence is at hand tending t
show the illegal sale of liquor
that the legislature had no in
tentlon of authorizing search Q
private residences under thes
circumstances, and by a specifl
reference to this chapter of tn
1911 laws it would seem it wa
the intention of the legislature t
limit public officers to the search
es authorized by said chapter.
/ have no hesitancy in sayinl
that the searching of private resi-
dences for the purpose of ascer
tanning whether intoxicating liQ
uor is there, without evidence o
Its being sold or illegally dispose