Opinion ID: 1662739
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: issues

Text: DID THE TRIAL COURT ERR WHEN IT FAILED TO SUPPRESS PHYSICAL EVIDENCE SEIZED FROM AND STATEMENTS MADE BY DEFENDANT? Defendant argues that the officers did not comply with the requirements of SDCL 23A-3-5, [1] which authorizes entry into a dwelling without a search warrant to make an arrest. [2] Under defendant's theory, as there was no compliance with the statute, his right to be secure against unreasonable searches and seizures has been violated. He argues that this makes the entry and arrest illegal and invalid, and the evidence seized pursuant to such acts should have been suppressed by the trial court. The facts establish that no less than ten times the officers pounded loudly on the doors of the house and yelled words to the effect, Scottie, this is Denny from the police department. The officers knew him well and, based on the facts already set forth herein, believed him to be in the house. This was confirmed by a visit with the parents of defendant. The evidence was presented to the trial court at the suppression hearing and later to the jury. Both found the notice given by the police to be reasonable under the facts and circumstances of this case. Defendant argues, however, that as a matter of law, such a determination is erroneous. Defendant's argument is contradictory. Defendant testified that he did not hear the police pounding and yelling at his door. Yet he argues that if the police had stated their intentions more clearly, the arrest would have been legal. Since defendant claimed he never heard the notice given by the officers, whether the statute would have been complied with or not, the assault on Officer Parrish would still have taken place. Further, defendant fails to articulate any specific prejudice he suffered for what the police said or failed to say. [3] Cf. Jackson v. United States, 354 F.2d 980 (1st Cir.1965). This court has recently re-affirmed its holding that [e]rror of constitutional dimension may be deemed harmless where the reviewing court finds, absent the error, it is clear beyond a reasonable doubt that the jury would have returned a conviction. State v. Boykin, 432 N.W.2d 60, 65 (S.D.1988). In accord with the rationale adopted by the Supreme Court of Minnesota, it is not necessary for us to determine the legality of the officers' compliance with SDCL 23A-3-5 to rule on this issue placed before us for an adjudication. [4] In State v. Wick, 331 N.W.2d 769, 771 (Minn.1983), the Minnesota Supreme Court held: Even if the arrest was unlawful, a point we need not decide, that would not have been a defense. Minnesota law does not recognize defendant's asserted right to resist an unlawful arrest or search. [citations omitted] Thus, while a defendant would have a right to resist an officer in order to defend himself or another against unjustified bodily attack, assaultive conduct is not justifiable solely on the ground that the officers are violating the defendant's fourth amendment [sic] rights or on the ground that the defendant believes that the officers are violating his rights. See also, State v. Kutchara, 350 N.W.2d 924 (Minn.1984); State v. Diedrich, 410 N.W.2d 20 (Minn.App.1987). Other jurisdictions on both the state and federal levels have faced the same issue where the initial arrest, stop or search and seizure was determined to be illegal. For these appellate bodies, the question then became whether the illegal actions of the officers merely reveal a crime that has been or is being committed by the time the police misconduct brings the crime to the attention of the authorities. Given such a circumstance, this evidence would be suppressible under the fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine. On the other hand, where the defendant's response is itself a new, distinct criminal act, there are sound policy reasons for not suppressing this evidence. United States v. Bailey, 691 F.2d 1009, 1017-18 (11th Cir.1982), cert. denied, 461 U.S. 933, 103 S.Ct. 2098, 77 L.Ed.2d 306 (1983). What is required of the state at this point is that it establish intervening events or circumstances independent of the primary illegality that may have so attenuated the causal connection as to dissipate the taint of the unlawful police action. Bailey, 691 F.2d at 1013. To rule otherwise would allow a defendant carte blanche authority to go on whatever criminal rampage he desired and do so with virtual legal impunity as long as such actions stemmed from the chain of causation started by the police misconduct, be it minor or major. In the case at bar, such a holding would have allowed defendant to summarily execute Officers Smith and Parrish with no legal accountability assuming the officers failed to fully comply with a statute such as SDCL 23A-3-5. As the Bailey court noted, This result is too far reaching and too high a price for society to pay in order to deter police misconduct. 691 F.2d at 1017. See also United States v. Nooks, 446 F.2d 1283 (5th Cir.1971), cert. denied, 404 U.S. 945, 92 S.Ct. 299, 30 L.Ed.2d 261 (1971). The United States Supreme Court has clearly sanctioned such concepts. United States v. Ceccolini, 435 U.S. 268, 98 S.Ct. 1054, 55 L.Ed.2d 268 (1978); Brown v. Illinois, 422 U.S. 590, 95 S.Ct. 2254, 45 L.Ed.2d 416 (1975). The Bailey court went on to conclude that while there was a right at common law to resist unlawful arrest, in a day where there is ready access to the courts to redress police misconduct, there is no reason short of fending off unjustified bodily attack which would authorize resisting an arrest, be it legal or illegal. See also United States v. Danehy, 680 F.2d 1311 (11th Cir.1982). In a case with a similar legal issue, the North Dakota Supreme Court found the officer's first attempt to stop the defendant to be illegal for lack of probable cause. However: Indvik's independent and intervening actions of engaging the officer in a high-speed chase, running from the police officers into the woods, drawing a firearm on the police officersand actually firing itbreak the chain of causation and dissipate the taint of the prior illegality, i.e., the invalid stop. [citation omitted] Indvik's independent and intervening actions subsequent to the officer's attempt to stop Indvik certainly created probable cause for his arrest on the charge of terrorizing. State v. Indvik, 382 N.W.2d 623, 627-628 (N.D.1986). See also Com. v. King, 389 Mass. 233, 449 N.E.2d 1217 (1983). In summary, whether the officers complied with SDCL 23A-3-5 or not, defendant's actions of assaulting Officer Parrish with a loaded shotgun and threatening to kill him when Parrish had made no move to harm defendant constituted probable cause to arrest defendant for aggravated assault. This breaks the causal connection between the entry into the home and the actions of defendant against Parrish. While this court recognizes the sanctity of the home, the right to live in peace therein and to be free from illegal governmental interference, these rights do not extend to turn a home into a free-fire zone against the police on whim. Thus, the trial court did not err when it refused to suppress the physical evidence and defendant's statements.