Court Opinion

ID: 9570511
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 20:23:54.636239+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:10:14.699431
License: Public Domain

MOSK, J.
I dissent.
I do not reach the issue of consent to search premises by an 11-year-old child, because in my opinion the police, armed with an arrest warrant, substantially complied with the requirements of Penal Code section 844 and therefore properly entered defendant’s premises, with or without consent, to execute the warrant. Upon entry the police observed the stolen television set in plain sight. I therefore agree with the conclusion of the trial court and the unanimous Court of Appeal, which affirmed the judgment.
Defendant admits the police possessed a valid arrest warrant when they entered his house. He attempts to avoid the consequences of this concession, however, by asserting that the police “did not utilize the warrant” to gain *485entry. The facts are otherwise. The police obtained the warrant that morning and carried it with them to the house; there they attempted to find defendant so that they could serve the warrant. It thus seems clear that the police made use of the warrant to serve defendant at his own home where he was most likely to be. Moreover, the prosecutor took the position at the suppression hearing that the entry was based on the warrant, and this position was reaffirmed by the Attorney General. Such an entry under color of warrant complies with constitutional requirements. In my view, consent is not an issue.
Defendant’s second contention is that the entry was unlawful because it was in violation of section 844. This statute authorizes the police to break open the door or window of a house to effect an arrest, but requires that before doing so they (1) knock or utilize some other means reasonably calculated to alert the occupants to their presence, (2) identify themselves as police officers, and (3) explain their purpose in seeking admittance. (Duke v. Superior Court (1969) 1 Cal.3d 314, 319 [82 Cal.Rptr. 348, 461 P.2d 628].)
The police substantially complied with section 844 by knocking, identifying themselves, and asking to be admitted into the house to search for defendant. The purpose of the proposed search, however, was to arrest defendant, and the police did not explain this before entering. Thus, they did not fully comply with the statute. (People v. Rosales (1968) 68 Cal.2d 299, 302 [66 Cal.Rptr. 1, 437 P.2d 489].) The issue, then, is whether the police conduct, which fell short of a full disclosure of purpose, nevertheless complied with the requirements and purposes of the knock-notice statute.
The law is clear that substantial compliance with the statute is generally sufficient. (Greven v. Superior Court (1969) 71 Cal.2d 287, 291 [78 Cal.Rptr. 504, 455 P.2d 432].) Substantial compliance has been defined as actual compliance with every reasonable objective of a statute; it overlooks mere technical imperfections of form. (Stasher v. Harger-Haldeman (1962) 58 Cal.2d 23, 29 [22 Cal.Rptr. 657, 372 P.2d 649].) In People v. Peterson (1973) 9 Cal.3d 717, 723 [108 Cal.Rptr. 835, 511 P.2d 1187], we declared that “[w]hen police procedures fail to conform to the precise demands of the statute but nevertheless serve its policies we have deemed that there has been such substantial compliance that technical and, in the particular circumstances, insignificant defaults may be ignored.”
In Duke v. Superior Court, supra, 1 Cal.3d at page 321, Justice Tobriner noted for the majority that “The purposes and policies underlying section 844 are fourfold: (1) the protection of the privacy of the individual in his home [citations]; (2) the protection of innocent persons who may also be present on the premises where an arrest is made [citation]; (3) the preven*486tion of situations which are conducive to violent confrontations between the occupant and individuals who enter his home without proper notice [citations]; and (4) the protection of police who might be injured by a startled and fearful householder.” In my dissent in that case (at p. 325) I agreed that section 844 serves a salutary purpose and should be followed. I observed that “There are undoubtedly a number of punctured bodies occupying cemetery plots today because defenders of their own castles were unable to distinguish between unidentified law enforcement officers and unauthorized intruders.”
In this instance, the police conduct served all the foregoing policies. Three of the Duke concerns, which may be summarized as prevention of violence to person or property due to unannounced intrusions, are not implicated here, where the knock on the door was actually answered by an occupant, the police identified themselves, and the occupant was asked to lead the police through the house. There is no reason to conclude that these purposes would have been further served had the officers more fully complied with section 844 by stating the purpose of their visit.
The remaining goal of the statute, to protect an occupant’s privacy interest, was also satisfied by the police conduct in this case. First, they obtained a warrant; its very existence necessarily casts some limitations on an individual’s right of privacy. Second, defendant’s home was not suddenly or violently invaded; the police knocked on the door and politely requested admittance. Finally, the police were peaceably admitted; thus there was no danger of “unexpected exposure of private activities.” (United States v. Bustamante-Gamez (9th Cir. 1973) 488 F.2d 4, 12.)
I therefore conclude that under the circumstances of this case there was substantial compliance with section 844. Once properly inside the home, the police could not avoid noticing the stolen television set in plain sight. They were justified in seizing it, and the trial court properly admitted the set in evidence.
I would affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeal.
Lucas, J., and Panelli, J., concurred.
Respondent’s petition for a rehearing was denied February 26, 1987.