State of Maine v. Dunn

CourtSuperior Court of Maine
DecidedOctober 26, 2010
DocketCUMvi-10-334and345
StatusUnpublished

This text of State of Maine v. Dunn (State of Maine v. Dunn) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Maine primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State of Maine v. Dunn, (Me. Super. Ct. 2010).

Opinion

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STATE OF MAINE

v. ORDER ON MOTION TO SUPPRESS

EUGENE DUNN

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Defendant, charged with two civil violations, the sale and use of drug

paraphernalia and the possession of marijuana, filed a motion to suppress all evidence

obtained as a result of an unlawful entry and search of his apartment in violation of state

and federal constitutional rights against unreasonable search and seizure. The police

were at defendant's apartment to conduct a "knock and talk" about marijuana being used

at 131 Bridge Road, Apartment A. The police gained entry to defendant's apartment by

first entering through an outer door to an inner hallway that the police believed was a

common hallway. Defendant counters that the hallway was part of his apartment and not

used by anyone else except the upstairs tenant in the case of an emergency. Defendant

further argues that outside the outer door there was a mailbox on which his and his

girlfriend's names and their address" 131 A" appeared and also a "Knock Here" sign was

posted on the outer door. The defendant testified that no other tenants' names and

addresses appeared outside the outer door and they have the only key for the outer door,

which is usually locked. Of course, most of the facts essential to deciding this dispute are hotly contested.

Defendant testified on the date in question the outer door was unlocked because someone

had recently exited the apartment but that only he and his girlfriend and the landlord, his

grandmother, had a key for the outer door. No key was needed for the inner doors to

defendant's apartment since they left the inside doors unlocked and relied on the outer

door as the entry to their apartment. They also considered the hallway part of their

apartment and stored a number of items in their hallway including items for their grill, cat

food, door ornaments, pictures, recycling items and a cooler. The police testified that the

outer door was unlocked and there was a woman in the hallway who claimed to be

looking for her daughter. The police testified that they smelled marijuana while in the

hallway but could not determine initially where it was coming from.

The layout of 131 Bridge Street includes a hallway inside the outer door. There

was a stairway straight ahead, a door to the left and two doors to the right of the stairway.

There are no doorbells or signage at any of the interior doors or stairwell. The stairway

goes up to the second floor where there is a tenant who has a separate entrance on the

other side of the building. The second floor tenant only uses the back stairway in an

emergency and does not have a key to enter through the outer door. On March 8, 2009,

the police said there may have been some items inside the hallway but nothing was

blocking the doors or stairway and the photographs introduced by the defendant do not

fairly and accurately represent how the hallway appeared on March 8. The police also

testified that they did not see the "Knock Here" sign; it was not posted on the door on

March 8.

2 The officers entered the into the hallway, found the woman looking for her

daughter and knocked on the door to the far right. The defendant heard noises or people

arguing out in the hallway and opened the door to the left of the stairway. This was a

different door than the door on which the police had just knocked. Both doors give

access to defendant's apartment. The third door goes to the basement where no one stores

anything. The arguing overheard by defendant was between the officers and the woman

in the hallway. The officers eventually evicted the woman from the back hallway.

According to the defendant, one of the officers put his hand and foot in the

interior door so he could not close it. At this point, the police smelled the marijuana

wafting out of defendant's apartment. Defendant told the officers to get out: The

defendant yelled at the officers to get out of his apartment and that the hallway was not a

common hallway. The defendant contends he never gave consent to enter his apartment

until the police threatened to obtain a warrant to bring the dogs there who would terrorize

the defendant's cats, tear defendant's apartment apart and keep him up all night.

Defendant eventually signed a consent form to avoid the consequences threatened by the

police because the defendant had to be at work early the next morning.

The police counter that they never threatened the defendant, although they admit

they told defendant they would get a search warrant if necessary. They told him they

were looking for Elizabeth Haskel, who defendant said was in the shower. They then

told defendant they were investigating a report about marijuana being smoked in his

apartment and they cQuld smell marijuana. Defendant admitted he had a small amount in

this apartment and after a discussion the defendant, fearful of the consequences if he did

not consent, consented to a search. Defendant allowed the police into his living room.

3 DISCUSSION

Generally, searches and seizures require a warrant and the exclusionary rule

requires suppression of evidence that is seized pursuant to an unreasonable search. State

v. Drown, 2007 ME 142, ~ 7,937 A. 2d 157, 159 (citations omitted).

Under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and article I, section 5 of the Maine Constitution, a warrantless search of a residence is generally unreasonable unless it is supported by probable cause and conducted pursuant to a recognized exception to the warrant requirement. Police officers have probable cause when their personal knowledge of facts and circumstances, combined with any reasonably trustworthy information conveyed to them, would warrant a prudent person to believe that the area to be searched holds evidence of a crime.

State v. Blackburn, 2008 ME 178, ~ 8, 960 A. 2d 1148 (citations omitted). Also, "a

search conducted by police pursuant to a valid consent, upon unopposed entry into a

home, is constitutionally permissible and is an established exception to the warrant

requirement of the federal constitution." State v. Boilard, 488 A. 2d 1380, 1384 (Me.

1985)(citations omitted). It is the State's burden to establish by a preponderance of the

evidence "the underlying facts bringing the case within one of the exceptions to the

warrant." Id. (citations omitted).

The police admit that they didn't have exigent circumstances, they had no

evidence of a crime being committed, and they had no warrant; all they had was the smell

of marijuana once they entered the back hallway and a report from a prior motor vehicle

stop that marijuana was being used at this address. They also contend that although the

defendant asked them to leave, they had his consent to enter the apartment.

The State must establish by a preponderance of the evidence that they had valid

consent to enter the defendant's apartment or that they had probable cause to make a

4 warrantless entry into the apartment. See State v. Rabon, 2007 ME 113, ~~14-15, 930 A.

2d 268, 275.

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Related

United States v. Rheault
561 F.3d 55 (First Circuit, 2009)
State v. Boilard
488 A.2d 1380 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 1985)
State v. Barclay
398 A.2d 794 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 1979)
State v. Bailey
2010 ME 15 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 2010)
State v. Rabon
2007 ME 113 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 2007)
State v. Drown
2007 ME 142 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 2007)
State v. Blackburn
2008 ME 178 (Supreme Judicial Court of Maine, 2008)

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State of Maine v. Dunn, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-of-maine-v-dunn-mesuperct-2010.