Court Opinion

ID: 9678010
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 06:08:41.569207+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:17:01.199936
License: Public Domain

Robert L. Brown, Justice, concurring. I agree with the majority opinion but write only to expand on one point. The majority opinion correctly cites Mings v. State, 318 Ark. 201, 884 S.W.2d 596 (1994), for the following proposition: An ulterior motive does not in itself render an arrest pretextual when there is a valid overt reason to make the arrest. Id. (citing Hines v. State, 289 Ark. 50, 55, 709 S.W.2d 65, 68 (1986)). The reasoning is that the arrest for the overt violation would have taken place in any event; thus there is no reason to bring the Fourth Amendment and the exclusionary doctrine-into play. Id. The Mings opinion, however, goes forward and emphasizes that an objective, reasonable-officer standard is applied in determining whether the arrest is valid and relies on Wayne R. LaFave’s distinguished treatise as authority. See 1 Wayne R. LaFave, Search and Seizure § 1.4, at 22 (Supp. 1994). Thus, failure to meet the objective and reasonableness standard set out in Mings can undermine the validity of an arrest. We recently upheld a reasonableness standard for pretextual arrests in State v. Sullivan, 340 Ark. 315, 11 S.W.3d 526 (2000), reh’g denied 340 Ark. 318-A, 16 S.W.3d 551 (2000). Smith, J., joins.