|
No. 131276
| The People of the State of Michigan, |
|
J. Nicholas Bostic |
Plaintiff-Appellant, |
|
|
| v |
(Appeal from Ct of Appeals) |
|
|
(Ingham - Brown, T.) |
|
|
| Willie R. Gillam, |
|
Roman J. Tyszkiewicz |
| Defendant-Appellee. |
|
|
| __________________________________________ |
|
|
Click to view briefs in Adobe format:
Plaintiff-Appellant's Brief on Appeal>>
Defendant-Appellee's Brief on Appeal>>
Prosecuting Attorneys Association's Amicus Curiae Brief>>
Background
Willie R. Gillam was charged with various drug offenses after police arrested him at his apartment. Gillam moved to suppress the evidence that was seized from his apartment during his arrest, arguing that his arrest violated the Fourth Amendment. Gillam cited Payton v New York, 445 US 573; 100 S Ct 1371; 63 L Ed 2d 639 (1980), in which the United States Supreme Court held that, absent exigent circumstances, police must obtain a warrant before arresting a suspect in his residence. At the suppression hearing, the officers testified that, while they did not possess a warrant to arrest Gillam, they had probable cause to arrest him. They testified that they went to Gillam’s apartment to ask him to voluntarily leave it so they could place him under arrest, and that he complied with their request. Gillam, however, testified that when the police asked him to leave his apartment he initially refused and only eventually left it because they repeatedly told him to and he felt threatened. The circuit judge credited Gillam’s testimony that he only left his apartment because the officers’ conduct “caused [him] to step outside and be arrested.” The judge then determined that the arrest was illegal and suppressed the seized evidence. The next day, on what was supposed to be the first day of trial, the prosecutor declined to proceed. The trial judge dismissed the case, “[w]ithout prejudice to the Prosecutor commencing the matter again.” The prosecutor appealed but, in an unpublished opinion, the Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s order suppressing the evidence and dismissing the case. The prosecutor appeals.
Top of Page
|
