Isaacks v. State

350 So. 2d 1340
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 14, 1977
Docket49542
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 350 So. 2d 1340 (Isaacks v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Isaacks v. State, 350 So. 2d 1340 (Mich. 1977).

Opinion

350 So.2d 1340 (1977)

Woodrow ISAACKS
v.
STATE of Mississippi.

No. 49542.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

September 14, 1977.
Rehearing Denied November 16, 1977.

*1341 Alexander & Johnston, William B. Alexander, Cleveland, for appellant.

A.F. Summer, Atty. Gen. by Pete J. Cajoleas, Sp. Asst. Atty. Gen., Jackson, for appellee.

Before INZER, P.J., and SUGG and LEE, JJ.

INZER, Presiding Justice, for the Court:

Appellant, Woodrow Isaacks, and his wife, Vera Isaacks, were jointly indicted in the Circuit Court of the First Judicial District of Bolivar County for the crime of unlawful possession, growing and manufacturing marijuana with the intent to deliver. After a trial, Mrs. Isaacks was acquitted, and Mr. Isaacks was found guilty of the lesser included offense of possession of more than one ounce of marijuana. He was sentenced to serve two years in the State Penitentiary and to pay a fine of $2,000. From this conviction and sentence he appeals. We reverse and remand.

This case involves the question of whether evidence seized as a result of a search made under the authority of a search warrant, which the state admits was void, is admissible in evidence over the objection of the owner of the premises searched. We hold that a search made under a void warrant is illegal and the fruits of an illegal search are not admissible in evidence.

The facts in this case reveal that on Monday, September 9, 1974, the officers of Bolivar *1342 County, armed with a search warrant, went to the residence of appellant and his wife and searched their premises. Nothing was found in or near the residence, but approximately one-half mile from the residence the officers found and seized 1,030 stalks (3,620 pounds) of plants, which after a laboratory test were determined to be marijuana. After the plants were seized, appellant and his wife were arrested and were later indicted by the grand jury.

Mr. and Mrs. Isaacks filed a motion to suppress the evidence seized as a result of the search alleging that the search warrant was void for several reasons. A hearing was had on the motion to suppress, and the court found that the search warrant was "completely and utterly defective for fifteen or twenty reasons." In spite of this finding, the court overruled the motion to suppress and allowed the state to introduce the evidence seized as a result of the search.

The testimony on the motion to quash revealed that on Friday, September 6, 1974, Officers Simpson, Merritt and Woods, acting on a tip from an informant, went to the property adjacent to the property owned by appellant and his wife. The two tracts of land are separated by a stream known as Snake Creek. The stream was several yards wide and its banks were twenty-five to thirty feet deep. The officers carried with them cameras equipped with telephoto lens and field binoculars. Although this was a rather densely wooded area, the officers saw and took pictures of plants growing on Isaackses' land which in their opinion were marijuana plants. These plants were about 35 yards from the bank of the creek. Officer Simpson went across the creek to the east bank which was on appellant's property. He said his purpose for going across the ditch was to ascertain the quantity of marijuana. When asked if it was not for the purpose of getting closer so that he could be sure that it was marijuana, he said that he was positive in his own mind that the plants were marijuana plants, but to be positive you have to send it to the lab.

The officers continued a surveillance of the property, and on the next day Officer Simpson saw what, in his opinion, was another patch of marijuana growing on the Isaackses' land. The following day was Sunday and Officer Simpson again observed what, in his opinion, was another patch of marijuana growing on the Isaackses' land.

The following day, after conferring with the County Attorney, Officer Simpson made an affidavit, the magistrate issued a search warrant and the officers conducted a search and seizure under the authority of this warrant, which turned out to be a void search warrant.

Appellant contends that the trial court was in error in refusing to suppress the evidence seized under the void search warrant. The state admits that the search warrant under which the seizure was made was void, but contends that the evidence seized as a result of the search was admissible for the reason that the officers could have gone on the property after seeing the marijuana and arrested Mr. and Mrs. Isaacks without a warrant, because they were committing a felony in their presence by growing marijuana on their land. The state also contends that the officers had a right to seize the marijuana under the "plain view" doctrine. In other words, the state is saying that although we seized the marijuana while making the search under a void warrant, the evidence is admissible because we could have, but did not use some other procedure to procure the evidence. This really amounts to nothing more or less than an attempt to circumvent the exclusionary rule.

In Tucker v. State, 128 Miss. 211, 90 So. 845 (1922), this Court, although not required to do so at that time, aligned itself with the Supreme Court of the United States and held that evidence obtained as a result of an illegal search was not admissible in evidence. In so holding the Court stated:

We adopt as the better rule that laid down by the supreme court of the United States in the cases above referred to. And in doing so we follow that court, which is our greatest exponent of constitutional law, and at the same time promote uniformity of state and Federal decision, *1343 which would be of sufficient weight to resolve any doubt, if there were such. Therefore we hold that the state's witnesses in this case should not have been permitted to testify as to what they saw in the home of the defendant, which they had illegally invaded, because in so doing it was tantamount to forcing the defendant to give evidence against himself.
(128 Miss. at 223, 224, 90 So. at 848).

In 1924 the legislature, in an attempt to circumvent the exclusionary rule, enacted Chapter 244, Laws of 1924, Section 3 thereof which reads as follows:

The testimony of any lawful officer or officers and the introduction as evidence of any intoxicating liquor or any still or appliance or receptacle used in the manufacture or transportation of the attempted manufacture or attempted transportation of intoxicating liquor, in the trial of any criminal case involving a violation of the prohibition laws of the state of Mississippi, shall not be rendered inadmissible or incompetent, by reason of the fact that such officer, or officers, was not armed with a due and proper search warrant authorizing the search of the building, room in a building, place or of the automobile or other vehicle in the course of which search the facts and information testified to were ascertained and discovered and the liquor, stills, and appliances for its manufacture or transportation were seized.

In Orick v. State, 140 Miss. 184, 105 So. 465 (1925), we held the act was unconstitutional and, among other things, said:

Section 23 of the Constitution, as construed by the court, commands the court to reject evidence obtained by an officer in violation thereof. The legislature commands the courts to admit such evidence.

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Bluebook (online)
350 So. 2d 1340, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/isaacks-v-state-miss-1977.