Say Goodbye to the Fourth Amendment? - Part II

Years ago we were stopped in a small town for doing six miles over the speed limit. Since we had been going down an incline, but the town was rumored to be a speed trap, we were unsure what to expect. No, we weren't given a ticket, but after we told the story to our attorney friend we added that we would have been happy to have had the officer look inside the vehicle.

Our friend was aghast. No! Never volunteer that. If they ask, say no! As he pointed out, while we may have absolutely nothing to hide, we have no idea what the officer might decide to plant in the car. Do many officers do that? We hope not.

We were reminded of that while watching a murder mystery a few weeks ago. The older detective told the younger that it was their job to suspect everyone was guilty and to try to prove it. It was the suspects' "job" to prove that they were innocent. Sad, but probably true.

Now a word about attorneys. If you have legal problems, please don't try to represent yourself based on what you've seen on television or what you've gleaned from the Internet. We recently asked how our readers "felt" about the Fourth Amendment and "unreasonable" searches. As one friend pointed out, it's what the law says about it that counts. 

Quite true, but who interprets the current state of the law in an appeal? You may be surprised at just how little freedom those ultra-conservative judges think you deserve.

Say Goodbye to the Fourth Amendment? Part I

Think you know exactly what the Fourth Amendment says? Perhaps you don't in today's world of twisted justice, but first an account from recent local crime history:

The home owner is Jerry Morris. The police officers are Mark Bowers and Lee Bradford. The claims at issue here arose out of events that took place in the early morning of April 19, 2009, at and around Morris's residence.

According to Morris's complaint,4 a 911 operator in Alabama received an emergency phone call from a highly intoxicated woman, who said that she had been “abandoned”5 and did not know where she was. She requested that someone be sent to pick her up.6

Town of Lexington Police Officer Lee Bradford and Reserve Police Officers Matt Wigginton and Jan Montgomery and Town of Anderson Police Chief Mark Bowers responded to the 911 call7 and on arriving at Morris's address found the woman who made the 911 call standing outside his house. She claimed “vaguely and generally” that she was in danger and that someone had been beating Morris's horses.8 The woman made no accusations against Morris.

After placing the woman in a chair on the porch in front of Morris's house, the officers knocked on the front door. Morris was in the house, asleep. His girlfriend woke him, and he went to the front door. While Morris stood inside the threshold, the officers asked him about the woman sitting in the chair. He said that he was unacquainted with her but knew her sister.

When the officers told Morris that the woman said his horses were being abused, he expressed concern and informed the officers that he would put on his boots and check on them. Bradford immediately informed him he was “not going anywhere.”9 When Morris stepped away toward the interior of the house, Bradford, Wigginton, and Bowers entered the house and followed him. Morris told them to leave—that if they wanted to search the house, they would have to obtain a warrant. Bowers and Wigginton left and stood on the front porch. Bradford stood in the front doorway, holding the door open.

At this point, Lauderdale County Deputy Sheriffs James Distefano and Patrick Davis arrived on the scene and were briefed on what had taken place—that Bradford, Wigginton, and Bowers had entered Morris's house without a warrant, and that Wigginton and Bowers had stepped back outside when Morris told them to leave. Bradford had refused to leave; he remained in the doorway. When Morris tried to close the door, Bradford shoved him. Morris, retaliating, punched him. With that, Bradford, Bowers, Wigginton, Distefano, and Davis entered the house, brought Morris to the floor and subdued him. While Morris was on the floor, Bowers used a taser on him in “drive stun mode, leaving numerous burn marks on [his] back.”10 Bowers used the taser after Morris was handcuffed and no longer resisting. With Morris in custody, Bowers, Bradford, Wigginton, and Montgomery searched his home and cars.

Morris was charged with assaulting a police officer and resisting arrest. In September 2009, the Lauderdale County District Attorney presented the charges to a grand jury. The grand jury issued a no bill. The next month, Morris filed notices of claims with the Towns of Lexington and Anderson. After Morris filed the notices, Bowers, Bradford, Wigginton, and Montgomery met and agreed to a false version of the events that had taken place at Morris's house. Their story was that they entered the house with Morris's consent; that Morris was intoxicated, aggressive, and threatening; that Morris slammed the door on Bradford without giving him a chance to leave; that Bradford did not shove Morris; and that Morris punched Bradford without provocation. Having conjured this story, the four officers convinced the District Attorney to resubmit the case to another grand jury.

On November 6, 2009, a second grand jury returned an indictment against Morris, charging him with two counts of assault in the second degree and a single count of resisting arrest. The case was tried to a jury the next month. The jury deadlocked on all counts, and the court declared a mistrial. A second trial, in January 2011, resulted in verdicts of acquittal.

You have to ask what these police officers were thinking. On the flip side, we don't recommend striking a police officer under any circumstances, but we know that we have readers who disagree with that. All polite comments welcome.