Court Opinion

ID: 9521637
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 02:09:17.2333+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:50:02.918059
License: Public Domain

Hennessey, C.J.
(concurring). In light of the careful analysis in the opinion of the court, this concurring opinion would be surplusage if it were not for the expression of the dissenters that the court here unnecessarily expands the protection of the Fourth Amendment. This is not so; the result reached by this court follows the careful limits mandated by the Supreme Court of the United States. Probably most judges share the dissenters’ disappointment and frustration in cases like this, when evidence procured by police “hunch” or intuition must be suppressed. Nevertheless, responsive to the clear teachings of the Supreme Court, we should observe that the Fourth Amendment protects not only the defendants in this case but also the many other persons who that evening stopped their vehicles at the side of high-speed highways with distress lights flashing and, unlike the defendants, had no contraband concealed in their vehicles.
Several principles arise out of the Fourth Amendment, as construed by the United States Supreme Court. “Probable cause” is the pivotal principle. Only if there is probable cause for the police to believe that the defendant has com*65mitted or is committing an offense may a search warrant be issued or, in some instances, may a search be conducted without a warrant. Beck v. Ohio, 379 U.S. 89 (1964). Commonwealth v. Haas, 373 Mass. 545, 555 (1977), and cases cited. See Chimel v. California, 395 U.S. 752 (1969); Warden v. Hayden, 387 U.S. 294 (1967). If probable cause does not appear, but there are “articulable facts” of a suspicious nature which permit the police to stop and question a person, the police may do a “pat-down” search during the questioning. Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 21 (1968). This pat-down is solely for the protection of police during the confrontation, and is directed solely toward concealed weapons.
The Commonwealth does not contend, nor could it reasonably contend, that probable cause was shown in the early stages of this confrontation. Nevertheless, as the opinion of the court here demonstrates, the police procedure, early on, was not merely for the protection of the officer during the questioning of the two men, but was clearly a search for evidence. Commonwealth v. Almeida, 373 Mass. 266 (1977), upon which the dissenting Justices rely, is markedly distinguishable from this case. In the sequence of events in that case the officer was not exceeding his limited self-protection privileges when he discovered the contraband. Our opinion in Commonwealth v. Silva, 366 Mass. 402 (1974), upon which the dissenters also rely, likewise emphasizes the limited self-protection aspect of a “pat-down” search in the absence of probable cause to arrest. I think it is clear from Almeida and Silva, and related cases, that the court is vitally concerned with preserving the right of policemen to stop and frisk for weapons in order to ensure their safety. It is just as plain that the stop and frisk privileges must not be used as a pretext to justify full searches, in the absence of probable cause and contrary to the Fourth Amendment.
Finally, the dissenters express their conviction that illegally obtained evidence should not be suppressed, but rather that the overreaching police should be disciplined. This thought relates to a debate of long-standing, and many *66persons, probably including many judges, agree with the dissenters’ point of view. Nevertheless, once more, this court has no option; the exclusion of evidence in such cases has been mandated by the Supreme Court.