Court Opinion

ID: 9712235
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 04:49:41.309261+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:23:10.294691
License: Public Domain

BARNES, Judge,
concurring.
It pains me to concur in the reversal of a case where a stolen handgun and almost twenty grams of cocaine were seized. However, I believe Judge Sharpnack has correctly and insightfully analyzed this set of facts, and that the appropriate legal result has been reached. Simply put, police cannot and are not constitutionally empowered to look for an elephant in an ice cube tray. That is to say, the scope of the permission secured for the search cannot be breached by subsequent police conduct.
There is no mystery as to what occurred here. The police officer saw Wright take the tin into another room. The police thought that suspicious and curious and after seeking permission to search the house for "officer safety" seized and looked into the tin. This is understandable police inquisitiveness, but impermissible and unconstitutional conduct.