2019 CO 35
Colo.2019Background
- Montrose police, investigating a reported stolen car, entered the curtilage/backyard of the Tomaske residence without a warrant and pursued Jeremiah Tomaske toward the house.
- Officers entered the house and one officer tackled Tomaske; during the struggle Tomaske allegedly assaulted an officer and dislodged the officer’s baton.
- Tomaske was charged with assault on a peace officer, disarming and attempted disarming a peace officer, and obstruction.
- Tomaske moved to suppress officers’ testimony and other evidence of what occurred inside the house as fruit of an alleged warrantless entry; the trial court found a Fourth Amendment violation and suppressed the evidence.
- The People appealed interlocutorily; the Colorado Supreme Court considered whether the exclusionary rule required suppression or whether the attenuation doctrine permitted admission.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether evidence of Tomaske’s alleged assault/disarming should be suppressed as fruit of an illegal entry | Entry was a Fourth Amendment violation; evidence obtained "but for" that illegality and thus must be suppressed | Tomaske’s violent resistance was an independent intervening act severing the causal chain | Evidence admissible: Tomaske’s willful criminal acts attenuated the connection to the police misconduct, so exclusionary rule does not apply |
Key Cases Cited
- Florida v. Jardines, 569 U.S. 1 (curtilage is protected area surrounding the home)
- United States v. Jones, 565 U.S. 400 (trespass and reasonable-expectation tests for Fourth Amendment analysis)
- United States v. Calandra, 414 U.S. 338 (exclusionary rule as remedy for Fourth Amendment violations)
- Utah v. Strieff, 136 S. Ct. 2056 (attenuation doctrine and limits on exclusionary rule)
- Herring v. United States, 555 U.S. 135 (exclusionary rule applies only where appreciable deterrence results)
- United States v. Leon, 468 U.S. 897 (good-faith exception; exclusionary rule as last resort)
- Hudson v. Michigan, 547 U.S. 586 (weighing deterrent benefits against social costs of exclusion)
- People v. Doke, 171 P.3d 237 (Colo. 2007) (willful criminal resistance to illegal police entry severs causal chain; evidence not suppressed)
- People v. Rodriguez, 945 P.2d 1351 (Colo. 1997) (distinguishing exploitation of illegality from evidence sufficiently purged of primary taint)