Court Opinion

ID: 9705805
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 01:21:41.31621+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:22:15.720811
License: Public Domain

MARING, Justice,
concurring in part and dissenting in part.
[¶ 39] I concur in the part of the majority opinion that concludes N.D.C.C. § 19-03.1-32(3) requires a higher standard for issuance of a no-knock warrant than the Fourth Amendment requires. N.D.C.C. § 19-03.1-•32(3) requires “probable cause” to believe the evidence would be disposed of or the officer’s safety would be endangered, whereas the United States Supreme Court has concluded the Fourth Amendment requires a “reasonable suspicion” that knocking and announcing would result in destruction of evidence or placing the officer in danger. Richards v. Wisconsin, 520 U.S. 385, 117 S.Ct. 1416, 1421, 137 L.Ed.2d 615 (1997). I also agree a legislature can afford greater protections than the United States Constitution, which our legislature has clearly done by this statute. I am of the opinion N.D.C.C. § 19-03.1-32(3) implicates a constitutional right, the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures guaranteed by the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 8, of the North Dakota Constitution. At ¶ 12 the majority relies on Professor LaFave to reach the conclusion that suppression is an appropriate remedy for the violation of a statute when it “concerns the quality of evidence needed for issuance of the warrant.” (Citing Wayne R. LaFave, Search and Seizure § 1.5(b), at 136 (3rd ed.1996)). Professor LaFave, however, notes: “But even in this latter area, it sometimes happens that a court disenchanted with the exclusionary rule will decline to apply it with respect to such violations.” LaFave, supra § 1.5(b), at 136. Nevertheless, our Court has concluded suppression of seized evidence is an appropriate remedy for a violation, of N.D.C.C. § 29-29-08 which generally authorizes the execution of search warrants. See State v. Sakellson, 379 N.W.2d 779, 784-85 (N.D.1985). In Sakell-son, our Court stated “[t]he rule of announcement is more than a statutory requirement. It is a constitutional imperative implicit in the fourth amendment prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures.” Id. at 784 (citation omitted). Consequently, our Court concluded the officer’s violation of *854N.D.C.C. § 29-29-08 was also a violation of both Article I, Section 8, of the North Dakota Constitution and the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution “thereby necessitating the suppression of the evidence obtained.” Id.
[¶ 40] I, therefore, agree the application of the exclusionary rule as a remedy for the violation of N.D.C.C. § 19-03.1-32 is proper, because the violation is one which implicates a basic constitutional right against unreasonable searches and seizures.
[¶ 41] The majority next reaches the-issue of whether we should adopt a good faith exception to the exclusionary rule remedy we have adopted for a violation of N.D.C.C. § 19-03.1-32. The majority reasons that because the exclusionary rule in our state has its genesis from federal constitutional doctrine we “must” follow United States v. Leon, 468 U.S. 897, 104 S.Ct. 3405, 82 L.Ed.2d 677 (1984) and adopt a good faith exception. The majority then proceeds to determine the good faith exception applies in this case and concludes at ¶ 21 the “officers acted in objective reasonable reliance on the no-knock warrant.” It seems rather ironic that we have interpreted a statute, which actually provides greater protection to our citizens from no-knock warrants than the federal constitution, in a way that arguably weakens this protection. Therefore, by applying federal constitutional doctrine alone, the majority affirms the trial court’s decision to adopt and apply a good faith exception.
[¶ 42] It is at this point in the decision I can no longer agree with the majority opinion. It concludes at ¶ 27, notwithstanding the argument by Herrick that the North Dakota Constitution recognizes greater protections than the federal constitution, the court “need not decide today” the question of whether the North Dakota Constitution provides greater protections than the federal constitution. I disagree that our inquiry stops here.
[¶43] In Herrick I, this court remanded the case to the trial court for “consideration of whether or not a good faith exception to the exclusionary rule should be applied.” State v. Herrick, 1997 ND 155, ¶ 27, 567 N.W.2d 336. We noted Herrick argued “the no-knock warrant violated his right against unlawful search and seizure because it was not reasonable to issue a no-knock warrant under the circumstances.” Id. at ¶ 16. We discussed that the Fourth Amendment and Article I, Section 8, of the North Dakota Constitution require all searches and seizures be reasonable and that the rule of announcement is implicit in this requirement. Id. at ¶ 17. Clearly we remanded because of the constitutional issues. If the issue was only one of statutory interpretation, there would be no need to remand to the trial court.
[¶ 44] The issue having been squarely raised by the defendant in this case, I believe it is our duty to independently interpret our state constitution. In State ex rel. Linde v. Robinson, 35 N.D. 417, 160 N.W. 514, 516 (1916), our Court utilized a text-based method of constitutional interpretation. Under this method, intent and purpose are to be deduced from the text first and only if ambiguity exists do we delve into factors that demonstrate the objective of the language and the intention of the drafters and adopters. Id. Article I, Section 8 of the North Dakota Constitution is “inherently ambiguous.” See Lynn Boughey, An Introduction to North Dakota Constitutional Law: Contents and Methods of Interpretation, 63 N.D. L.Rev. 157, 219 n. 502 (1987). According to our Court in Robinson, we look to the object to be accomplished; the prior state of the law; and the contemporaneous and practical constructions when construing ambiguous language. 160 N.W. at 516.
[¶ 45] In examining the object to be accomplished, we look to the “intent of the ‘constitution maker,’ the intent of the members of the constitutional convention, the intent of the people adopting the constitutional provision, and the purpose and spirit of the provisions being construed.” Boughey, supra at 218. Early North Dakota history reveals the power and influence of the railroads in North Dakota. Id. at 242-43. It has been suggested the people of Dakota Territory wanted to assert their independent rights as against control from outside interests. Id. The history of our state constitution shows that the framers and the people of North Dakota *855intended to grant an array of basic individual rights broader than that guaranteed by the federal constitution. Id. at 253-59. The Declaration of Rights occupies the position of the first article in the North Dakota Constitution. Unfortunately, the constitutional convention’s journal and official report do not provide any assistance in specifically construing the search and seizure provision.
[¶ 46] It can be established, however, that the North Dakota Constitutional framers did not use the federal constitution as a model in formulating our state constitution. See Honorable Robert Vogel, Sources of the 1889 North Dakota Constitution, 65 N.D. L.Rev. 331, 332, 342 (1989). The sources of the declaration of the right to be free of unreasonable searches and seizures in Article I, Section 8, have been identified as “Penna., I, and Constitutions generally.” Honorable Herbert L. Meschke & Lawrence D. Spears, Digging for Roots: the North Dakota Constitution and the Thayer Correspondence, 65 N.D. L.Rev. 343, 379 n. 251, 481 (1989) (exploring the history of the “Williams Constitution”).
[¶ 47] The origin of Article I, Section 8 of our state constitution is clearly linked to the Pennsylvania Constitution, Article 1, Section 8. In the interpretation of our state constitution it is important to look for guidance in the construction of a like constitutional provision upon which our constitutional provision is based and historically linked. Meschke & Spears, supra at 381.
[¶ 48] The Pennsylvania Supreme Court construed Article 1, Section 8 of its state constitution in Commonwealth v. Edmunds, 526 Pa. 374, 586 A.2d 887, 889 (Pa.1991) to reject adoption of the good faith exception to the exclusionary rule. The text of Article 1, Section 8 of the Pennsylvania Constitution is similar in language to Article I, Section 8 of the North Dakota Constitution and the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Edmunds, 586 A.2d at 895. Pennsylvania’s Constitution, however, was “adopted on September 28, 1776, a full ten years prior to the ratification of the U.S. Constitution.” Id. at 896. Pennsylvania’s constitution was revised in 1790 and the search and seizure provision was reworded. Id. at 897 In Edmunds, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court carefully and thoughtfully examined and construed Article 1, Section 8 of its state constitution to determine whether a good faith exception to the exclusionary rule applies.
[¶ 49] First, it noted although the text of its search and seizure provision is similar to the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, it is “not bound to interpret the two provisions as if they were mirror images[.]” Id. at 896. Similarity of language between federal and state constitutions may show a similarity of purpose, but it does not follow that a state court interpreting a state constitutional provision cannot do so independently from the federal courts’ interpretation of the federal constitution. See State v. Jacobson, 545 N.W.2d 152, 157 (N.D.1996) (Levine, J., dissenting). As one scholar observed: “ ‘different men may employ identical language yet intend vastly different meanings and consequences.’ ” The Interpretation of State Constitutional Rights, 95 Harv. L.Rev., 1324, 1497 n. 12 (1982) (quoting Jerome Falk, The Supreme Court of California, 1971-1972: Foreword — the State Constitution: A More Than “Adequate” Nonfederal Ground, 61 Cal. L.Rev. 273, 282 (1973)).
[¶ 50] The Edmunds court also pointed out that “[l]ike many of its sister states, Pennsylvania did not adopt an exclusionary rule until the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Mapp required it to do so.” 586 A.2d at 897. North Dakota likewise applied the exclusionary remedy only after the Supreme Court’s decision in Mapp held the Fourth Amendment’s exclusionary remedy was applicable to the states through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643, 655, 81 S.Ct. 1684, 6 L.Ed.2d 1081 (1961); see; State v. Manning, 134 N.W.2d 91, 98-99 (N.D.1965) (citing State v. Govan, 123 N.W.2d 110, 115 (N.D.1963), as “clearly indicating that it would follow the Mapp decision if and when the question were raised in this court”). The court noted that at the time Pennsylvania embraced the exclusionary rule, it was viewed as an essential part of both the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments, i.e., a *856“constitutional mandate,” and its purpose included protection of individual privacy rights, deference of unlawful police conduct and preservation of institutional integrity. Edmunds, 586 A.2d at 897-98. The court cited a history of case law interpreting its search and seizure provision in its state’s constitution as “unshakably linked to a right of privacy[.]” Id. at 898.
[¶ 51] Our Court has stated “[t]he North Dakota Constitution may afford broader individual rights than those granted under the United States Constitution.” State v. Rydberg, 519 N.W.2d 306, 310 (N.D.1994); see also State v. Nordquist, 309 N.W.2d 109, 113 (N.D.1981); State v. Stockert, 245 N.W.2d 266, 271 (N.D.1976); State v. Matthews, 216 N.W.2d 90, 99 (N.D.1974). Our Court has also found greater individual rights under our state constitution. See Grand Forks-Traill Water Users v. Hjelle, 413 N.W.2d 344 (N.D.1987) [protection from takings for public use]; State v. Orr, 375 N.W.2d 171 (N.D. 1985) [right to counsel]; City of Bismarck v. Altevogt, 353 N.W.2d 760 (N.D.1984) [jury trial rights]; State v. Nordquist, 309 N.W.2d 109 (N.D.1981) [grand jury protections]; State v. Lewis, 291 N.W.2d 735 (N.D.1980) [right to appeal]; State v. Stockert, 245 N.W.2d 266 (N.D.1976) [protection from illegal searches]; Johnson v. Hassett, 217 N.W.2d 771 (N.D.1974) [right to uniform application of laws]; see also State v. Matthews, 216 N.W.2d 90, 99 (N.D.1974) [broader standing to challenge illegal searches].
[¶ 52] With regard to Article I, Section 8 (formerly Section 18) specifically our Court has stated:
The fourth and fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and Article I, Section [8] of the North Dakota Constitution prohibit unreasonable searches and seizures. The guiding ‘principle behind these prohibitions is to safeguard personal privacy and dignity against unwarranted intrusions by the State. To realize this principle, all evidence obtained in searches and seizures which transgress the commandments of the fourth amendment to the federal constitution has been made inadmissible in state courts by the United States Supreme Court.
State v. Phelps, 286 N.W.2d 472, 475 (N.D.1979) (citations omitted and emphasis added.) Also in Scdcellson, our Court stated “[t]he primary policies underlying the knoek-and-announce rule are the protection of privacy in the home and the prevention of violent confrontations.” 379 N.W.2d at 782 (emphasis added). Our Court’s emphasis on this very important policy underlying the right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures cannot be summarily dismissed in an analysis of the purposes underlying the exclusionary remedy in North Dakota. It is also important to note that our Court has specifically construed the search and seizure provision of our state constitution and concluded it granted protection against a war-rantless search regardless of whether the search conformed to the federal constitution. See State v. Stockert, 245 N.W.2d 266, 271 (N.D.1976) (holding search violated state constitution and recognizing states can impose higher standards than the federal standards); see also State v. Matthews, 216 N.W.2d 90, 98 (N.D.1974) (recognizing a broader standing right to contest an illegal search than may be required by federal standards).
[¶ 53] The history of our statutory law also shows our legislature implemented Article I, Section 8 by enacting N.D.C.C. § 19-03.1-32 thereby manifesting an intent to guard against the issuance of no-knock warrants without probable cause and afford our citizens greater protection against unreasonable searches and seizures than the federal constitution. In State v. Orr, 375 N.W.2d 171, 177-78 (N.D.1985), our Court, in analyzing a defendant’s right to counsel under our state constitution, recognized that legislative action to “zealously” guard a right illustrates a special regard for that right in our state. N.D.C.C. § 19-03.1-32 has been a part of our law since the enactment of the Uniform Controlled Substances Act in 1971. See 1971 N.D. Sess. Laws ch. 235, § 32(3). The existence of this statutory protection for twenty-seven years supports a constitutional interpretation consistent with that intent.
[¶ 54] Finally, other states have confronted the issue of whether to apply the good faith exception to the exclusionary rule enunciated in Leon under their own constitutions. See, e.g., Edmunds, 586 A.2d. at 899-900 (discussing the decisions of states rejecting and adopting the good faith exception); see also Hall, Search and Seizure, § 5:32, at nn. 72 & *85773 (2d ed.1993) (for a compilation of states rejecting and adopting the exception). The Edmunds court carefully reviewed the rationale upon which these other state courts relied in their analysis. 586 A2d at 900-01. The court concluded:
[GJiven the strong right of privacy which inheres in Article 1, Section 8, as well as the clear prohibition against the issuance of warrants without probable cause, or based upon defective warrants, the good faith exception to the exclusionary rule would directly clash with those rights of citizens as developed in our Commonwealth over the past 200 years, ... From the perspective of the citizen whose rights are at stake, an invasion of privacy, in good faith or bad, is equally as intrusive.
Id. at 901.
[¶ 55] I, therefore, respectfully dissent, because I believe our Court should address the issue of whether to adopt or reject the good faith exception to the exclusionary rule under Article I, Section 8 of the North Dakota Constitution, based on a thorough and considered analysis of North Dakota history, the origin of the right, our own precedent, related case law from other jurisdictions, subsequent legislation, and the purposes of Article I, Section 8 our Court has recognized.
[¶ 56] Mary Muehlen Maring