Opinion ID: 520307
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Invalid Arrest Warrant

Text: 14 Appellant argues that the firearm, personal property, and ensuing statements obtained by the police in connection with the October 21, 1986 arrest should have been suppressed because Sergeant Blais knew or should have known that the New Hampshire fugitive warrant upon which his arrest was based was invalid. According to appellant, because the officer had been told before arresting Towne that the New Hampshire charges had been resolved, Blais lacked probable cause to arrest him, and therefore the arrest violated Towne's fourth amendment rights. Alternatively, appellant argues that the arrest violated his due process rights under Santobello v. New York, 404 U.S. 257, 262, 92 S.Ct. 495, 499, 30 L.Ed.2d 427 (1971), because it constituted a violation of the prior plea agreement between himself and Vermont authorities concerning the New Hampshire charges. 15 In an Opinion and Order dated May 28, 1987, Judge Coffrin thoroughly addressed appellant's fourth amendment and due process claims and correctly rejected them. First, it is clear that Sergeant Blais did have probable cause to arrest Towne. Blais learned of the New Hampshire fugitive warrant after conducting a background check with the NCIC. He then personally contacted the Sheriff's Office of the issuing New Hampshire county and confirmed that the warrant was still outstanding. Blais thereafter asked for and received a certified copy of the warrant from New Hampshire, and only then did he arrest Towne. Although Towne's probation and parole officer in Vermont, Linda Beal, informed Blais that she suspected that the New Hampshire charges against Towne had already been resolved, these were merely suspicions which must be assessed against Blais' three-pronged inquiry, which revealed that there was a warrant outstanding against Towne. As the district judge stated in his opinion: 16 [The information that Sergeant Blais had regarding the outstanding fugitive warrant], coupled with the receipt of a certified copy of the warrant, was more than sufficient to dispel any doubt that might have been cast by the inchoate suspicions of Beal and Mollica that the New Hampshire charges had been resolved or taken care of. Given the circumstances, we believe that an officer of reasonable caution would conclude that the New Hampshire charges were still pending and therefore that probable cause existed to arrest the defendant. 17 We agree and we conclude that Sergeant Blais had probable cause to arrest Towne, and, hence, Towne was not deprived of his fourth amendment rights. See Brinegar v. United States, 338 U.S. 160, 175-76, 69 S.Ct. 1302, 1310-11, 93 L.Ed. 1879 (1949); see also United States v. Fox, 788 F.2d 905, 907 (2d Cir.1986). 18 The fact that the underlying New Hampshire warrant was improperly kept in the active files of the NCIC in violation of the three-way plea agreement between New Hampshire, Vermont, and the defendant, does not require this Court to suppress the seized evidence. As Judge Coffrin correctly explained, the only issue in this case is whether Sergeant Blais had probable cause to believe that the defendant was wanted on outstanding criminal charges in New Hampshire. If such probable cause existed, then Towne was afforded all the process he was due. See Michigan v. DeFillippo, 443 U.S. 31, 39-40, 99 S.Ct. 2627, 2633-34, 61 L.Ed.2d 343 (1979) (where officer had probable cause to arrest, fact that ordinance creating the offense was later held unconstitutional did not affect the legality of the arrest). Finally, there are no underlying policy considerations at work here which might warrant suppression of the evidence that was seized. Applying the exclusionary rule in this case would not further the purpose of the rule, which is to deter police misconduct, because it was objectively reasonable for Sergeant Blais to rely on the New Hampshire warrant in arresting the defendant. As the Supreme Court stated in United States v. Leon, 468 U.S. 897, 918-19, 104 S.Ct. 3405, 3418-19, 82 L.Ed.2d 677 (1984), the exclusionary rule cannot be expected, and should not be applied, to deter objectively reasonable law enforcement activity.