Court Opinion

ID: 9583021
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 22:34:03.506414+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:37:04.543916
License: Public Domain

ROSSMAN, J.,
specially concurring.
I agree with the result that the majority reaches but believe that it should have been reached more directly. Instead of simply relying on the trial court’s findings, the majority appears to use this as an opportunity to denounce any use of nightscopes. Although it notes that use of the scope was unconstitutional “as used in this case,” I am concerned that its dicta will be misinterpreted as rendering impermissible the use of nightscopes in all cases.
The state concedes that “there is evidence to support the trial court’s finding that, without the nightscope, the officers would not have observed sufficient activity to form a reasonable suspicion that defendant and his companions possessed drugs.” The only other question is whether defendant’s activities were viewable by passersby, in which case defendant could not argue that the state’s observations impaired his constitutional right to freedom from scrutiny. The trial court’s findings and conclusions implicitly settle that issue in defendant’s favor, and we are bound by that. *490Because the officers did not make an unaided observation that could have given rise to reasonable suspicion that the vehicles’ occupants were committing a crime, and because the court tacitly found that others in the tavern parking lot would have been unable to observe defendant’s activities, the stop was unlawful. That should have ended our inquiry.
I write separately to clarify that, although use of the nightscope was impermissible in this case, its use is not per se unlawful. Under other circumstances, it might lawfully be used to observe that which could not otherwise be seen. For example, if an officer had probable cause to believe that a violent crime was being committed in a darkened stadium, the nightscope could be used to identify the exact location of the assailant or to keep the suspect in view during hot pursuit. Its use would also be permissible if officers had probable cause to believe that drugs were being sold and used a nightscope to identify the precise type of drug. See 1 LaFave, Search and Seizure § 2.2(c), at 339 (2d ed 1987 & 1991 Supp). These are but a few examples of the circumstances in which use of a nightscope could be appropriate.