Court Opinion

ID: 9588720
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 23:37:29.037511+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:52:33.636612
License: Public Domain

Deen, Presiding Judge,
dissenting.
The evidence supports the allegations that appellants had been to six bars during the night, had been drinking and had the odor of alcohol on their breath, and were belligerent and abusive in using profanity and obscene language (although it is argued that saying a few “God Damn’s,” if in fact it was said, is not obscene and abusive language), and no appeal was made as to the conviction of using abusive language in the presence of another. Around 5:00 a.m., they pounded on the mother homeowner’s door with a pickup order and an *750arrest warrant for the daughter. The homeowner indicated that her daughter was not there. One appellant, without consent of the homeowner, went through the house on several floors with a handgun, waving and pointing it at another daughter and at the homeowner, and waking up a small grandchild. They proceeded with the search despite the homeowner’s demand that they leave.
Initially, I note that the evidence certainly would support a conviction of criminal trespass under OCGA § 16-7-21 (b) (3) (Code Ann. § 26-1503), which provides that “a person commits the offense of criminal trespass when he knowingly and without authority . . . remains upon the land or premises of another . . . after receiving notice from the owner ... to depart.” However, because the accusation charges appellants only under the theory of unauthorized entry for an unlawful purpose, OCGA § 16-7-21 (b) (1) (Code Ann. § 26-1503), the convictions must be reviewed under that theory.
The primary question in this case thus is, can one with an apparent right to arrest another later convert that into a full-blown search of the house of a third-party homeowner without the latter’s permission? The majority opinion answers “yes.” I must respectfully dissent.
The majority relies upon Coleman v. State, 121 Ga. 594 (49 SE 716) (1904), in deciding that appellants had the lawful purpose of seizing the homeowner’s daughter who had forfeited the bond. Coleman certainly allows a licensed bondsman to seize and hold a principal upon forfeiture of the bond, in order to surrender her again to the custody of the law, but it should not be extended to allow unchecked entry and search of a third-party’s home. While the contract of bail between the bondsman and the principal may legally authorize a bondsman to enter the premises of the principal to seize him, it should not authorize the invasion of another’s home; the fact that a principal may indicate an incorrect residence to the bondsman simply is a risk that must be borne by the bondsman. I suggest that our perspective in considering the authority of a bondsman should be guided by the law of search and seizure.
Miller v. United States, 357 U. S. 301 (78 SC 1190, 2 LE2d 1332) (1958), makes it clear that an arrest warrant is necessary to arrest someone in the home absent exigent circumstances. “Every householder, the good and the bad, the guilty and the innocent, is entitled to the protection designed to secure the common interest against unlawful invasion of the house.” Id. at 313. This case also quoted the famous speech attributed to William Pitt, the Earl of Chatham. “ ‘The poorest man may in his cottage bid defiance to all the forces of the Crown. It may be frail; its roof may shake; the wind may blow through it; the storm may enter; the rain may enter; but the *751King of England cannot enter — all his force dares not cross the threshold of the ruined tenement!’ ” Id. at 307. Stegald v. United States, 451 U. S. 204 (101 SC 1642, 68 LE2d 38) (1981), sets to rest the fact that an arrest warrant for one party cannot be converted into a full-blown search warrant to search a second-party’s home absent consent. “The issue in this case is whether, under the Fourth Amendment, a law enforcement officer may legally search for the subject of an arrest warrant in the home of a third-party without first obtaining a search warrant.”
The latter case in effect overruled the Georgia Supreme Court case of State v. Harris, 246 Ga. 759 (272 SE2d 719) (1980), which itself had overruled Harris v. State, 155 Ga. App. 278 (270 SE2d 854) (1980). Also see State v. Harris, 248 Ga. 28 (280 SE2d 837) (1981) and Harris v. State, 157 Ga. App. 367 (278 SE2d 52) (1981).
While appellants in this case, not law enforcement officers, went to the home originally for a lawful purpose, to make a lawful arrest, thereafter when they commenced an illegal search of the house without a search warrant and over the protest of the homeowner, I consider them to have entered the home for an illegal purpose within the definition of criminal trespass. The conviction as to the pointing of the handgun or pistol as well as criminal trespass is amply supported by the evidence.
The whole court case of Brown v. State, 163 Ga. App. 209 (294 SE2d 305) (1982), where police officers made a warrantless search of a home for a third-party without the consent of the homeowner is distinguishable. There, those making the search were in “hot pursuit” of the subject and were police officers. Also there the approximately 265-lb. homeowner had physically blocked the doorway, pushed the officers back, it taking finally five officers and two sets of handcuffs to restrain the homeowner. In the case sub judice those making the search were not uniformed officers. It is undisputed that “hot pursuit” is not an issue, that no physical force was used by the mother homeowner, and that no search warrant was obtained and no consent given. The right under Coleman v. State, supra, to seize the body means a legal seizure at least to the extent of not running rampant through a third-party’s home and violating the constitutional rights of other citizens.
“No right is held more sacred, or is more carefully guarded by the common law, than the right of every individual to the possession and control of his own person, free from all restraint or interference of others, unless by clear and unquestionable authority of law.” Union Pacific R. Co. v. Botsford, 141 U. S. 250, 251 (11 SC 1000, 35 LE 734) (1891). “The two provisions of the constitution which we have been discussing appear in the fundamental law of every State of this *752Union, as well as in the federal constitution. They are the sacred civil jewels which have come down to us from an English ancestry, forced from the unwilling hand of tyranny by the apostles of personal liberty and personal security. They are hallowed by the blood of a thousand struggles, and were stored away for safe-keeping in the casket of the constitution. It is infidelity to forget them; it is sacrilege to disregard them; it is despotic to trample upon them. They are given as a sacred trust into the keeping of the courts, who should with sleepless vigilance guard these priceless gifts of a free government. We hear and read much of the lawlessness of the people. One of the most dangerous manifestations of this evil is the lawlessness of the ministers of the law.” Underwood v. State, 13 Ga. App. 206, 213 (78 SE 1103) (1913).
As discussed above, law enforcement officers, armed merely with an arrest warrant for the homeowner’s daughter who did not live with the homeowner, could not have legally proceeded with the search under the circumstances of this case. The incident of bail bondsmen proceeding with such a search strikes me as equally illegal and unpalatable.
I would affirm the trial court in all respects.
I am authorized to state that Presiding Judge McMurray concurs in this dissent, and Judge Carley concurs in the judgment of the dissent only.