State v. Heney
2013 SD 77
S.D.2013Background
- Police responded to hotel complaints of marijuana smell; officer initially entered room 212 (a maid opened the door) and seized a half-smoked marijuana cigarette in an unlawful search.
- Officer left and later returned after hotel staff called reporting a strong marijuana odor from room 208, which was registered to Bogin-Dell.
- Officer knocked, obtained Bogin-Dell's consent to enter room 208, and asked whether anyone was smoking; Heney admitted possessing and smoking marijuana and produced a California medical marijuana card and marijuana cigarettes.
- Officer arrested Heney, searched his luggage (with consent) in the room registered to Heney, found a vial of cocaine on his person, and obtained a urine sample testing positive for marijuana and cocaine.
- Trial court suppressed the evidence seized in the illegal entry of room 212 but denied suppression of statements, marijuana surrendered in room 208, and the cocaine; Heney was convicted and appealed, arguing all subsequent evidence was tainted as fruit of the poisonous tree.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether evidence obtained during the second visit was tainted by the earlier illegal search of room 212 | State: Second-visit evidence came from independent, lawful sources (third-party complaint, smell, consent) and therefore admissible | Heney: The illegal search of room 212 set in motion the return visit and thus all later evidence is fruit of the poisonous tree | Court held admissible under the independent-source doctrine; no causal exploitation of prior illegality |
Key Cases Cited
- Murray v. United States, 487 U.S. 533 (independent-source and prompted-warrant analysis)
- Segura v. United States, 468 U.S. 796 (fruit-of-the-poisonous-tree principle)
- Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471 (taint and attenuation framework)
- Nix v. Williams, 467 U.S. 431 (balancing deterrence and probative evidence)
- Alderman v. United States, 394 U.S. 165 (burden-shifting on proving evidence untainted)
- State v. Boll, 651 N.W.2d 710 (S.D. 2002) (warrant prompted by illegal entry may not be independent source)
- United States v. Liss, 103 F.3d 617 (7th Cir.) (officer’s private suspicion does not invalidate a voluntary consent)