State v. Clarke, 446 P.3d 451

Victim (Dan) reported that Clarke groped her on a public beach and wished to press charges; she described Clarke and gave details to Deputy Hanson.
Deputy Hanson located Clarke; Clarke admitted the contact but said it was consensual; based on the complaint and admission Hanson arrested Clarke for misdemeanor battery.
During a search incident to arrest, officers discovered syringes, marijuana, and methamphetamine; an additional syringe with meth was found when booking.
Clarke moved to suppress the evidence as the product of an unlawful warrantless arrest for a misdemeanor allegedly committed outside the officer’s presence. The district court denied suppression, finding probable cause and that Idaho Code § 19-603(6) authorized the arrest.
The battery charge was later dismissed for lack of evidence; Clarke was convicted by a jury of drug possession and paraphernalia offenses. He appealed, arguing the arrest violated Article I, § 17 of the Idaho Constitution and alternatively raising prosecutorial-misconduct claims.
The Idaho Supreme Court held the dispositive issue was constitutional: the state constitution prohibits warrantless arrests for completed misdemeanors, and vacated Clarke’s convictions despite § 19-603(6) permitting certain out-of-presence misdemeanor arrests.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Article I, § 17 permits a warrantless arrest for a misdemeanor committed outside the arresting officer’s presence when probable cause exists	State: statute (I.C. § 19-603(6)) and probable cause justify such arrests to address domestic violence and public-safety concerns	Clarke: the Idaho Constitution, informed by law at adoption, prohibits warrantless arrests for completed misdemeanors; § 19-603(6) cannot expand constitutional arrest power	Court: Article I, § 17 bars warrantless arrests for completed misdemeanors; constitutional limit overrides § 19-603(6); conviction vacated

State v. Green, 158 Idaho 884, 354 P.3d 446 (Idaho 2015) (discusses relationship between preexisting statutes/common law and Article I, § 17)
State v. Draper, 151 Idaho 576, 261 P.3d 853 (Idaho 2011) (standard of review for suppression rulings)
State v. Polson, 81 Idaho 147, 339 P.2d 510 (Idaho 1959) (warrantless arrest for felony based on probable cause)
State v. Conant, 143 Idaho 797, 153 P.3d 477 (Idaho 2007) (warrantless arrests where offense occurs in officer’s presence)
State v. Julian, 129 Idaho 133, 922 P.2d 1059 (Idaho 1996) (statutory context for § 19-603(6) re: domestic violence arrests)
John Bad Elk v. United States, 177 U.S. 529 (U.S. 1900) (recognition of common-law rule that officers could not arrest without warrant for misdemeanors not committed in their presence)
State v. Mox Mox, 28 Idaho 176, 152 P. 802 (Idaho 1915) (early Idaho case applying common-law rule on misdemeanor arrests)
Baltimore & O.R. Co. v. Cain, 31 A. 801 (Md. 1895) (permitting out-of-view arrest in exigent public-order circumstances)