Opinion ID: 4419429
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: APPLICATION OF NEW YORK v HARRIS

Text: But even if the “hot pursuit” exception does not apply, defendant still would not be entitled to suppression of the evidence. Defendant is denied the relief she seeks by the United States Supreme Court’s opinion in New York v Harris,61 a case referred to by the majority in a single footnote. The majority remands the case to the trial court but does not decide this issue, noting that neither the trial court nor the Court of Appeals addressed the application of the exclusionary rule. Because the facts of the case have been sufficiently developed such that we could apply the holding in Harris, I believe that we should do so in the name of judicial efficiency. In Harris, the United States Supreme Court explained that “the rule in Payton was designed to protect the physical integrity of the home; it was not intended to grant criminal suspects . . . protection for statements made outside their premises where the police have probable cause to arrest the suspect for committing a crime.”62 That is, “where the police have probable cause to arrest a suspect, the exclusionary rule does not bar the State’s use of a statement made by the defendant outside of his home, even though the statement is taken after an arrest made in the home in violation of Payton,” as long as the statement is not rendered inadmissible on some other grounds, e.g., coercion.63 It seems clear, then, that because Officer Staman had probable cause to arrest defendant for failure to report an accident causing damage to fixtures and for operating a motor vehicle under the influence 61 See Harris, 495 US at 17. 62 Id. 63 Id. at 20-21. 19 of intoxicating liquor, defendant’s statements in Officer Staman’s police cruiser—made after waiving her Miranda rights—would be admissible even if the arrest inside defendant’s home violated the rule in Payton.64 I see no reason why the rule in Harris would not extend to uphold the admissibility of defendant’s blood-alcohol-level tests as well.