Court Opinion

ID: 9747996
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-27 15:47:28.933154+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:25:30.193775
License: Public Domain

ACREE, Judge,
concurring:
This case demonstrates rather precisely the challenge all judges face when applying search and seizure law to persons whom the record ultimately paints as less than virtuous. As footnote 3 of the majority opinion reveals, Appellants fall in that category.
However, the Constitution protects unsavory persons as surely and thoroughly as it protects the most virtuous among us. And since unconstitutional contact between the police and the innocent citizen would typically end with an apology and pleasant parting, the rights of all of us will rarely be protected otherwise than by disciplined application of constitutional protections to the least among us, even the least virtuous.
All judges in this case agree that Officer May conducted himself in a professional manner and carried out his duties in good faith. His actions removed a danger from Kentucky’s roadways.
But while both my colleagues assiduously worked to express learned views of federal constitutional law in the context of Kentucky jurisprudence, I cannot agree with both of them. In the end, and recognizing the merits of the dissent, I concur with the majority because that opinion need not be limited to the facts of this case. As always, it is our highest court that may have the final word.