Opinion ID: 2630721
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 15

Heading: suppression of photographic evidence

Text: ś 71 Cross challenges the admission of crime scene photos on the grounds they were taken before a warrant was received. We affirm. ś 72 Five minutes after Cross was arrested, and before obtaining a warrant, the police reentered the house accompanied by medics. CP at 332, 424; RP (Apr. 17, 2000) at 65. The officers confirmed that the victims were dead and took photographs of the crime scene. CP at 331-32. A telephonic warrant was approved about three hours later. Id. It was not based on any information collected during the second entry into the house. CP at 1099. Cross argues that the police exceeded their authority in this second entry, going beyond what is necessary under the medical emergency exception to the warrant requirement. The trial court ruled the evidence admissible, and this court reviews for abuse of discretion. CP at 1103; Stenson, 132 Wash.2d at 701, 940 P.2d 1239. ś 73 First, generally, a defendant who pleads guilty waives appeal to errors committed prior to arraignment, including an illegal search or seizure. 13 ROYCE A. FERGUSON, JR., WASHINGTON PRACTICE: CRIMINAL PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE § 3718, at 101 (2004). However, if the error amounts to a violation of due process, it may constitute a ground for appeal, where, for example, the defendant claims his guilty plea was involuntary. . . [or] from the court's refusal to withdraw a plea of guilty. Id. at 102. Cross does not argue either. Nonetheless, we will consider his claim. ś 74 Generally, photographs taken by police of a crime scene will be admissible so long as the entry was lawful. State v. Wright, 61 Wash.App. 819, 824, 810 P.2d 935 (1991); cf. Pennsylvania v. Ehrsam, 355 Pa.Super. 40, 52, 512 A.2d 1199 (1986). Under the medical emergency exception to the Fourth Amendment, police may make a warrantless entry into a home as long as the entry is motivated, both subjectively and objectively, by the officer's belief that there is a need to render aid or assistance. State v. Loewen, 97 Wash.2d 562, 568, 647 P.2d 489 (1982) (citing State v. Prober, 98 Wis.2d 345, 365, 297 N.W.2d 1 (1980), overruled on other grounds by Wisconsin v. Weide, 155 Wis.2d 537, 455 N.W.2d 899 (1990)). ś 75 Cross argues that the exception does not apply because, based on his stepdaughter's statements to the 911 operator, the officers knew that the victims were dead, and therefore, beyond aid or assistance. But under the circumstances, the police and rescue workers reasonably decided not to rely on the report of a distraught 13-year-old and confirmed that the victims were beyond their aid. CP at 1101; see also RP (Apr. 17, 2000) at 65-66, 75, 93-94. We find no abuse of discretion in admitting the pictures.