Court Opinion

ID: 9791188
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-31 02:07:16.005647+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:37:34.678440
License: Public Domain

DIMOND, Senior Justice,
dissenting.
I dissent for the reasons set forth in my concurring opinion in Pascu v. State, 577 P.2d 1064, 1069 (Alaska 1978). In the case at bar, the police used subterfuge and deceit to gain entry into the defendants’ apartment so that they could acquire probable cause to have a search warrant issued. While the deceptive measures employed in Pascu were more dramatic, the principle remains the same. As I stated in Pascu, “[T]his means of obtaining a desired end is distasteful and objectionable, because it eventually undermines, rather than enhances, the high standards of conduct in the administration of justice required of law enforcement agencies and the courts of this state.” 577 P.2d at 1069-70. I would reverse the judgment because I believe the deception used by the police rendered Lawyer’s consent involuntary and, therefore, the evidence seized from the apartment should have been suppressed.