Opinion ID: 2223913
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: whether there was an appropriate warrant exception

Text: In the instant case, the police asserted that the warrantless arrest of defendant in his motel room was proper because it was justified by exigent circumstances. [11] In denying defendant's motion to suppress evidence of the items seized from the motel room, the trial court seemed to conclude, after reading the preliminary examination transcripts, that while the defendant may have had an expectation of privacy in the motel room, a motel room itself creates an exigent circumstance. [12] Since we have held that the warrantless arrest of the defendant was improper absent exigent circumstances, we recognize that Payton once again provides the legal basis for our decision. In Payton, the Supreme Court held that in the absence of consent or exigent circumstances the Fourth Amendment prohibits warrantless entries into private homes to make routine felony arrests. Since the trial court assumed that the defendant did not consent to the warrantless entry into his room and we agree that the defendant did not consent to this entry, [13] the remaining issue facing us is whether the exigency exception to the warrant requirement was met in the case at bar. The burden of justifying a warrantless entry into a constitutionally protected area is upon the government. See Vale v Louisiana, 399 US 30, 34; 90 S Ct 1969; 26 L Ed 2d 409 (1970); United States v Killebrew, 560 F2d 729, 733 (CA 6, 1977). See also People v Reed, 393 Mich 342, 362; 224 NW2d 867 (1975), cert den sub nom Reed v Michigan, 422 US 1044 (1975). The exigency exception to the warrant requirement has evolved because it is judicially recognized that some situations dictate immediate responses by police rather than waiting for the judgment of a neutral and detached magistrate. Since the trial court's reason for finding an exigent circumstance which justified the defendant's warrantless arrest was the fact that the defendant was in a motel room, [14] it would be helpful to review decisions by other courts which have considered various exigencies as they relate to a warrantless intrusion into a motel room. In United States v Roper, 681 F2d 1354, 1357, fn 1 (CA 11, 1982), the court noted that the record revealed that defendant's arrest and the search of his motel room without a warrant was justified by exigent circumstances where (1) there were simultaneous multiple arrests at the conclusion of a drug transaction, and (2) there was a legitimate fear that the defendant would escape. However, none of the same concerns exist in the instant case since there were no multiple arrests and there was no fear of escape. In an analogous case, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit found that there were no exigent circumstances which justified the warrantless arrest of a defendant in his motel room. In United States v Bulman, supra , federal drug agents arrested the defendant in a motel room after investigating his involvement in a conspiracy to sell drugs. The government had argued that defendant's involvement in an ongoing conspiracy itself created an exigency. The Bulman court rejected the argument by stating that the exigent circumstances doctrine is applicable within the narrow range of circumstances that present real danger to the police or the public or a real danger that evidence or a suspect might be lost (emphasis added). 667 F2d 1384. In the case at bar, a similar argument that a motel room itself creates an exigency should be rejected since it does not fall into the narrow range of circumstances which would allow a warrantless intrusion. Such a broad interpretation of the exigent circumstances doctrine would eliminate the constitutional presumption against warrantless intrusions. [15] In addition, several state courts have also addressed the issue of the exigent circumstances doctrine as it relates to motel rooms. In Combs v State, 270 Ark 496, 500; 606 SW2d 61 (1980), for example, the court held that even though the police entered a defendant's motel room without an arrest or search warrant, there was no Fourth Amendment violation where the exigencies of the situation made that course imperative. In that case, the police were responding to a call that a woman was being held at a motel. When the officers arrived, they saw a woman and two men standing outside a room in an apparent argument. When the three saw the officers, they entered the room where the officers heard the woman saying, Let me go. Let me go. Such extreme and unusual circumstances, however, did not exist in the instant case. Conversely, in Graham v State, 406 So 2d 503 (Fla App, 1981), the court held that a warrantless arrest of a defendant in his motel room was not justified on the theory of exigent circumstances. The facts that the court looked to were: (1) there was a three-day interval between the robbery and arrest, thus the requirement of speed to apprehend a fleeing felon was not present, and (2) there was a large number of police officers executing the arrest, greatly reducing the risk that the defendant would escape. The same criteria exist in the case at bar where: (1) the police were not pursuing a fleeing felon, and (2) there were several officers executing the arrest, reducing the risk that the defendant would escape. In a case factually analogous to the instant case, the court, in State v Holtz, 300 NW2d 888, 893 (Iowa, 1981), held that the warrantless arrest of the defendant in a motel room by the police was not justified by exigent circumstances. The Court stated that: Although burglary is a serious crime, the offense involved here did not suggest a danger to life. The officers had no reason to believe defendant was armed. Their contacts with him earlier in the night had been peaceful. Although they had probable cause to believe he committed the crime and strong reason to believe he was in the motel room, they had no basis for believing he would escape if not apprehended. Because they had the only door to the room under surveillance, they could act quickly to arrest defendant if he attempted to leave while a warrant was being sought. 300 NW2d 893. The Holtz analysis is equally applicable in the present case. Finally, in State v Pool, 98 NM 704, 706-707; 652 P2d 254, 256-257 (1982), the court held that an officer was justified in making a warrantless arrest of the defendant in his motel room where that officer had smelled burning marijuana upon defendant's opening the door. Thus, the officer had a good faith belief that the defendant, who had closed the door upon recognizing the officer as a policeman, would immediately attempt to dispose of the contraband. Once again, the exigencies in Pool were unlike those in the instant case because the arresting officers had no reason to believe that evidence or contraband would be immediately destroyed. In short, the reviewed cases clearly indicate that the criteria used in finding exigent circumstances are very narrow and that a motel room itself does not create an exigency. Thus, the validity of a warrantless arrest in a motel room is not without limitations in that it depends upon the reasonableness of the officer's response to the situation perceived as requiring immediate action. The question is whether a reasonable person would have perceived a need to immediately secure the motel room. People v Olajos, 397 Mich 629, 634; 246 NW2d 828 (1976). A number of factors have been identified which are used in determining whether an exigency exists. In Dorman v United States, 140 US App DC 313, 320-321; 435 F2d 385 (1970), the court laid down several factors to be used in determining whether an exigency exists. The Dorman factors are as follows: (1) whether a serious offense, particularly a crime of violence, is involved; (2) whether the suspect is reasonably believed to be armed; (3) whether there is clear showing of probable cause; (4) whether strong reason exists to believe the suspect is in the premises being entered; (5) whether there is a likelihood that the suspect will escape if not swiftly apprehended; (6) whether the entry is forcible or peaceful; and (7) whether the entry is at night. Vance v North Carolina, 432 F2d 984, 990 (CA 4, 1970). The Dorman factors are not all-inclusive. In addition to these factors, there are other factors such as: (1) preventing the destruction of evidence, (2) ensuring the safety of law enforcement personnel, (3) ensuring the safety of citizens, and (4) the ability to secure a warrant. In short, all these factors weigh in allowing action without warrants by police. Each case, however, must be judged on its own facts. In applying these factors to the case at bar, it is clear that a motel room itself is not an exigent circumstance. In addition, a balancing of these factors does not lead us to conclude that the officers acted pursuant to any exigency. The factors supporting a finding of exigency are: first, the defendant had committed a serious felony; second, there was a fairly clear showing of probable cause; and, finally, the entry by the police was peaceful. The factors not supporting a finding of exigency are: first, while the defendant had committed a serious crime, it was not particularly a crime of violence; second, the defendant was not reasonably believed to have been armed; third, the preliminary examination testimony of one of the arresting officers indicated that there was no reason to believe that the suspect was even in the motel room at the time of his arrest; fourth, there was no indication in the record that the suspect would have escaped if not swiftly apprehended; fifth, there was no reason to believe that defendant was about to destroy evidence; sixth, there was no reason to believe that the safety of the officers or anyone else was in jeopardy; seventh, with sufficient police to guard against the defendant leaving the room, there was no reason why one of them could not have left to secure a warrant; and, finally, the entry into defendant's motel room was made at night. Thus, we hold that while there was probable cause for defendant's arrest there were no exigent circumstances to support a warrantless arrest of defendant in his motel room under the Michigan Constitution. Since the police were not lawfully in the defendant's room, [16] the trial court erred in not suppressing the evidence which flowed from defendant's unlawful arrest. [17] The defendant's convictions are reversed and the case is remanded to the Wayne Circuit Court for a new trial not inconsistent with this opinion.