Court Opinion

ID: 9755497
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-28 20:39:33.347412+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:28:07.995909
License: Public Domain

J IM HANNAH, Justice, concurring. I concur in the decision in this case, but would argue for greater restraints on police use of the “knock and talk.” Article 2, section 15, of the Arkansas Constitution is a limitation on the power of government and provides protection against unlawful search and seizure. Grimmett v. State, 251 Ark. 270-A, 476 S.W.2d 217 (1972). In this case, we are dealing with the search of a home. On a number of occasions, this court has stated the old cliche that “a man’s home is his castle.” Guzman v. State, 283 Ark. 112, 672 S.W.2d 656 (1984); Haynes v. State, 269 Ark. 506, 602 S.W.2d 599 (1980). The protection of the home against unlawful intrusion is of paramount concern. This court has stated that a person’s home should be free from intrusion by outsiders, including the government and its officers. Haynes, supra. In terms of the rights against search and seizure arising under the United States Constitution, the United States Supreme Court in earlier decisions confirmed the statement that illegal entry into a person’s home is the chief evil guarded against by the Fourth Amendment. United States v. United States District Court, 407 U.S. 297 (1972); McDonald v. United States, 335 U.S. 451 (1948). It is also so presently under the Constitution of the State of Arkansas. In the majority opinion, we now depart from our earlier decisions wherein this court has declared that the Arkansas Constitution provides no greater protection than the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Rainey v. Hartness, 339 Ark. 293, 5 S.W.3d 410 (1999); Fultz v. State, 333 Ark. 586, 972 S.W.2d 222 (1998). We previously noted that the wording of each document is comparable, and through the years, in construing this part of the Arkansas Constitution, we have followed the United States Supreme Court’s cases. Stout v. State, 320 Ark. 552, 898 S.W.2d 457 (1995). Current interpretation of the United States Constitution in the federal courts no longer mirrors our interpretation of our own constitution. In Arkansas, our constitution requires us to continue to lend greater protection in the area of warrantless searches. This is evident in the fact that a warrantless search is presumptively unreasonable. McFerrin v. State, 344 Ark. 671, 42 S.W.3d 529 (2001). More particularly, in this case, we must deal with the issue of oral consent to search and police conduct known as a “knock and talk.” Here the State claims the right against unlawful search and seizure was waived during the course of the discussion arising from the “knock and talk.” Certainly, the right may be waived. Williams v. State, 237 Ark. 569, 375 S.W.2d 375 (1965). However, in the situation where the police choose to go to a person’s home to seek the opportunity to search, we must be very careful that the police do not abuse their position of power and authority. As noted, a man’s home is still his casde, and of this, this court stated, “The right to this protection is too valuable to entrust to those who are charged with the duty of apprehending criminals and whose duties also require them to locate evidence to prove the guilt of suspects.” Guzman, 283 Ark. at 117. In Guzman, in expressing this concern, we cited to the United States Supreme Court in McDonald v. United States, 335 U.S. 451, 456 (1948), wherein that Court stated: Power is a heady thing; and history shows that the police acting on their own cannot be trusted. And so the Constitution requires a magistrate to pass on the desires of the police before they violate the privacy of the home. We cannot be true to that Constitutional requirement and excuse the absence of a search warrant without a showing by those who seek exemption from the constitutional mandate that the exigencies of the situation made that course imperative. The “knock and talk” practice of police poses a serious threat to the right of privacy and right against unlawful search and seizure. Our constitution requires that consent to search a home cannot be coerced, explicitly or implicitly, or by threats whether implied or overt. Guzman, supra. Where police go out with bare unsubstantiated allegations of illegal activity and try to gain access to residences and businesses by obtaining oral consent to search, the intent of the police is understandable and clear. The encumbrances placed on police by the requirements of obtaining a search warrant doubtless make the police less effective. However, this court has long held that consent to a warrantless search of one’s home must be given freely and voluntarily. Humphrey v. State, 327 Ark. 753, 940 S.W.2d 860 (1997); Guzman v. State, supra. The State has a heavy burden to prove by clear and positive testimony that consent was freely and voluntarily given. Scroggins v. State, 268 Ark. 261, 595 S.W.2d 219 (1980); Humphrey, supra. See also Norris v. State, 338 Ark. 397, 993 S.W.2d 918 (1999). The State failed to meet its burden in this case. The facts of this case make clear the danger the police “knock and talk” poses. As the majority opinion notes, the federal courts compare police coming to the front door to salespersons or others who may lawfully approach a person’s door. The validity of this comparison is highly questionable. While there is no doubt a police officer might approach one’s door to sell tickets to the policeman’s ball, or sell raffle tickets to a charity function in the same capacity as a salesperson might, in approaching the door to question an occupant about alleged illegal activities or the presence of contraband, the police officer’s purpose is wholly inconsistent with that of a salesperson. In that case, he or she comes to the door clothed literally in the authority of the State, and likely in the eyes of the house’s occupant, with the greatest power of the State that the average person may ever deal with face to face in his or her life. We ought also to note that the average salesperson generally does not come armed, although that might arguably increase sales. The facts of this case simply will not support the idea that these police officers were just like the Avon lady or the child selling Girl Scout cookies. First, the average salesperson would likely avoid showing up at the door at 10:00 p.m. While bothering someone so late would likely result in lower sales of cookies, the police showing up so late would make a deeper impression and raise the level of pressure and intimidation. Second, a salesperson would not accuse a person of a felony. That, too, raises the level of anxiety and makes coercion more likely. Third, parking where their car could not be seen is not the likely tactic of the average salesperson who would not perceive taking the customer by surprise as a helpful sales technique. It would, however, have a tendency to catch the occupant of the house off guard and increase pressure to submit. Fourth, although the facts of the number of police officers at the door is in conflict, it is clear there were at least two initially and then four. Avon ladies generally do not travel in packs. Again, the intent is clear — to intimidate and make it more likely the person will give oral consent. Fifth, salespersons don’t generally carry flashlights and check the yard and cars on the way to the door. Sixth, a salesperson would likely go to the front door, not a sliding glass door on the side of the house. In short, there is nothing in these facts to support a claim that the police were on Griffin’s property for a lawful purpose. It is difficult to imagine that given these facts a person would feel free to decline the officer’s request even under the Fourth Amendment analysis of the federal courts. See Florida v. Bostick, 501 U.S. 429 (1991). In fact, Officer’s Johnson’s testimony indicates he recognized that people he approached on “knock and talks” did not always feel they were free to ignore him. The “knock and talk” practice is designed to gain entry for a search without obtaining a warrant, and in fact without any form of reasonable cause, or really even reasonable suspicion. It is designed to avoid the encumbrances of all the protections afforded by both the Arkansas and the United States Constitutions. From that perspective alone, the “knock and talk” should be viewed with disfavor. The intent to avoid obtaining a warrant is apparent from the facts of this case and from the facts of other cases on this issue. The plan is simple. The police show up in force and intimidate the person into giving oral consent. Officer Johnson testified that he would conduct “knock and talks” until midnight, and it is apparent that late at night was the favored time. Absent a showing of exigent circumstances, Johnson could not have executed a search warrant at so late an hour. Ark. R. Crim. P. 13.2(c). He also testified that using the method noted above, he got consent up to eighty percent of the time. Officer Johnson further testified that he had consent forms, but that he did not use them, and believed he was under no compulsion to advise a person they need not consent to the search. That statement in and of itself reveals acknowledgment that some persons may well have believed they had no choice but to submit to the search. The “knock and talk” raises significant issues, and unfortunately reinforces the concern that law enforcement should not be acting on their own. The better approach would be to do the necessary police work to entitle the police to a search warrant. The preference in the law is for a warrant, and it is so strong that less persuasive evidence than would support a warrantless search will justify the issuance of a search warrant. State v. Broadway, 269 Ark. 215, 599 S.W.2d 721 (1980). The police in this case were not faced with any exigent circumstances at all. There was no reason the police had to proceed on the night the police chose to act. The oral consent obtained under the facts of this case is simply not valid consent. Rather than struggle with oral consent in these cases, I believe the better approach, which would be more consistent with our past cases on search and seizure, would be to require signed consent that advises the person of their rights. That would protect against the erosion of the right against unlawful search and seizure posed by the “knock and talk” method being increasingly used by police. The “knock and talk” search carries too high a danger of coerced consent. This has been recognized by other courts. In State v. Ferrier, 960 P.2d 927 (Wash. 1998), the Washington Supreme Court held that in a search arising from a “knock and talk,“police must inform the person that he may refuse consent, revoke consent, or limit the scope of consent. The Mississippi Supreme Court held that under a search resulting from a “knock and talk,” there must be a knowledgeable waiver. Graves v. State, 708 So.2d 858 (Miss. 1997). These courts reached these conclusions based on their state constitutional provisions against unlawful search and seizure, and we should do the same under Article 2, section 15, of the Arkansas Constitution. These courts recognize the danger posed by the “knock and talk,” and that danger is evident here in the high percentage of people who consent. Given the nature of the police conduct, there is a real danger that the persons consenting may believe themselves under restraint, and in consenting, are actually simply obeying the orders of the police they believe they must obey. There is a high likelihood they do not understand they have the right to refuse consent. Thus, I concur in the result in reversing this case, but I would require that in the future, the police obtain written consent notifying the person of their rights and a knowledgeable waiver. Corbin and Brown, JJ., join in this concurrence.