State Ex Rel. Furlong v. Waukesha County Court

177 N.W.2d 333, 47 Wis. 2d 515, 1970 Wisc. LEXIS 1011
CourtWisconsin Supreme Court
DecidedJune 5, 1970
Docket264
StatusPublished
Cited by21 cases

This text of 177 N.W.2d 333 (State Ex Rel. Furlong v. Waukesha County Court) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wisconsin Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State Ex Rel. Furlong v. Waukesha County Court, 177 N.W.2d 333, 47 Wis. 2d 515, 1970 Wisc. LEXIS 1011 (Wis. 1970).

Opinions

Wilkie, J.

I. Prohibition.

The first issue confronting this court is whether prohibition in the circuit court was the proper method for defendant to test the criminal action against him in the county court.

We have considered this very issue in a number of recent decisions.3 “. . . Prohibition will not lie whenever habeas corpus or other adequate remedy is available.” 4

Defendant seeks to suppress any prosecution based on evidence seized as a result of the search warrant which he contends was illegally issued.

The skeletal framework of defendant’s syllogism is: The search warrant issued by Judge Dancey was constitutionally defective; the defendant was arrested as a result of evidence obtained during an illegal search; therefore, defendant’s arrest is invalid.

The record reveals that this argument or a variation thereof has consistently been made by the defendant throughout this action, and further, that the above syllogism provided the basis for Judge Voss’s reasoning in granting the writ of prohibition absolute.

But defendant could test his contentions by habeas corpus. Prohibition was inappropriate when this other [522]*522adequate remedy, habeas corpus, was available for testing this alleged illegal search.5

II. Assumed proper jurisdiction to test sea/rch.

While prohibition was not the proper remedy and, in any event, the circuit court should not have barred prosecution of Furlong for his alleged crimes, it was within the circuit court’s power to declare Furlong’s arrest illegal based as it was on evidence seized as a result of a search made under cover of an illegal search warrant. Since Furlong could reach this by habeas corpus, we will regard Furlong’s petition to the circuit court as being a petition for habeas corpus.

III. Search.

So the issue now is: Was the search illegal?

The search of the Furlong premises was accomplished by virtue of a search warrant issued by Judge Dancey. It is well established that a search warrant may issue only upon a finding of probable cause by a neutral and detached magistrate.6 The probable cause necessary to be shown for the issuance of a search warrant is less than the evidence which would justify condemnation or be competent in a preliminary examination. It is permissible in this state for a search warrant to be issued based on hearsay information.7 However, the magistrate must be informed in the manner provided by sec. 963.02, Stats., of the underlying circumstances supporting the complainant’s averment that the informant, whose identi[523]*523ty by name need not be disclosed, was credible or his information reliable.8

The rules applicable at the time as to the required showing of the reliability of an informant were those of Aguilar v. Texas.9 Mr. Justice Heffernan, in State v. Williams, decided June 2, 1970, quoted Aguilar as follows:

“ ‘Although an affidavit may be based on hearsay information and need not reflect the direct personal observations of the affiant, Jones v. United States, 362 U. S. 257, the magistrate must be informed of some of the underlying circumstances from which the informant concluded that the narcotics were where he claimed they were, and some of the underlying circumstances from which the officer concluded that the informant, whose identity need not be disclosed, see Rugendorf v. United States, 376 U. S. 528, was “credible” or his information “reliable.” Otherwise, “the inferences from the facts which lead to the complaint” will be drawn not “by a neutral and detached magistrate,” as the Constitution requires, but instead, by a police officer “engaged in the often competitive enterprise of ferreting out crime,” Giordenello v. United States, supra, at 486; Johnson v. United States, supra, at 14, or, as in this case, by an unidentified informant.’ Aguilar, supra, at 114, 115.” 10

Detective Johnson, at the time he testified to obtain the warrant, asserted that the informant was reliable and that he had dealings with him in the past and that the informant had proven reliable. Subsequent testimony by Detective Johnson flatly contradicted these assertions. At the July 9th hearing it was established that Detective Johnson had had no previous dealings with the infor[524]*524mant; therefore, it would be impossible for him to personally attest to the informant’s reliability.

It appears that while it may be conceded that the second prong of the Aguilar test can be met by the facts in this record, the first prong has not been satisfied. The state’s argument that Detective Johnson, when answering questions as to the reliability of the informant, thought that the “you” used in the questions was collective referring to the Waukesha Sheriff’s Department, is untenable. The detective was specifically asked whether he personally was acquainted with the informant, to which he replied affirmatively.

Thus, it is submitted there was not sufficient probable cause for Judge Dancey, acting as magistrate, to issue the search warrant. It may well be that Judge Dancey had information other than what appeared in the record which would establish probable cause. In fact, it is apparent from the record itself that not everything brought to the judge’s attention was reported on the record. The illustration of this is that Judge Dancey himself was the first to refer to the defendant by name. It is impossible on review to know what this other information was: “. . . It is elementary that in passing on the validity of a warrant, the reviewing court may consider only information brought to the magistrate’s attention.” 11

IV. Arrest.

The remaining issue and perhaps the underlying issue of this entire discussion is: Can an arrest be based on an invalid search ?

The circuit court concluded that it could not. We agree.

It is apparent that the purpose of the police in entering the Furlong premises was not to make an immediate [525]*525arrest for a crime that had been or was being committed, but rather for the purpose of searching the premises and obtaining information upon which an arrest might then be made. This fact is evidenced by the abortive search warrant. Since, as has been submitted, the search warrant was invalid, it can be treated as if it did not exist. Then this case is analogous to Allen v. State,12 a prohibition era case, wherein the defendant was stopped by two police officers and asked if he had liquor on his person, to which he replied affirmatively. A search followed and a pint of liquor was found on the defendant. An arrest followed, based upon the evidence obtained by the search. Defendant’s conviction was reversed by this court, which said:

“Had the officers made a legal arrest they would have been justified in their search of the defendant.

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State Ex Rel. Furlong v. Waukesha County Court
177 N.W.2d 333 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 1970)

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Bluebook (online)
177 N.W.2d 333, 47 Wis. 2d 515, 1970 Wisc. LEXIS 1011, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-ex-rel-furlong-v-waukesha-county-court-wis-1970.