The New Mexico Supreme Court ruled that a police officer can make a DUI arrest without a warrant even when the defendant is inside his home and the police did not observe the motorist drive. The case is City of Santa Fe v. Marcos Martinez.
In the Martinez case, the police received a tip from a mall employee that Martinez was drunk and tried to unlock several vehicles before speeding away. The police tracked down Martinez's vehicle at his house; when he came to the front door, the officers claim that he was falling down drunk. The officers felt the hood of Martinez's car which was still warm at the time.
When the officer came to the front door, he could see the defendant staggering in his house. The defendant then reached up to unlock the door. The officer then entered the residence without a warrant.
The New Mexico Supreme Court found that the actions of the officer were proper under the State's misdemeanor arrest rule. The Court did not address the Constitutional issue of whether the defendant's arrest was valid under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and accordingly, remanded the case to the district court.
This case raises in interesting issue for a Massachusetts OUI lawyers to consider. Under the United States Supreme Court decision of Welch v. Wisconsin, 466 U.S. 740 (1984)
a police officer cannot enter a home to make an arrest without a warrant for a misdemeanor.
This rule appears to have been violated in this case when the officer entered the house without a warrant to make a DUI arrest, which under Massachusetts OUI law would be a misdemeanor offense. The State would likely argue that the defendant gave consent to enter by unlocking the door; however, the court should find that unlocking the door does not constitute the actual consent necessary to justify a warrantless entry of a home under the 4th Amendment.
The case raises a second Constitutional question as to whether the store employee gave the officer a sufficient description of the motorist to even justify any seizure of the motorist.
As an experienced DUI lawyer in Massachusetts, I have defended many DUI cases involving constitutional defenses. When a police officer stops a vehicle, it is a warrantless seizure and at a motion to suppress hearing the police officer will have to testify as to the basis of the stop by alleging some traffic violation. If you are charged with a Massachusetts OUI offense, you can feel confident that when you call me I will explain to you the defenses to your case. I can be reached anytime at 508-455-4755 or on my cell phone at 781-686-5924 or by email.
