920 N.W.2d 742
N.D.2018Background
- Defendant Anquine White and his roommate were supervised probationers living together; both were subject to probation conditions allowing warrantless searches and requiring reporting to probation officers.
- The roommate failed to report as directed; probation officers instructed him to report and, ten days after his deadline, visited the residence to locate him or White.
- A third party at the home told officers neither man was present; officers searched the residence for the roommate based on suspected probation violation and observed a scale with suspected drug residue in plain view in a bedroom.
- After the scale was seen, officers expanded the search and seized drugs, paraphernalia, a firearm, and items linking White to the bedroom; White was charged with possession offenses.
- White moved to suppress, arguing the search was a suspicionless, warrantless probationary search violating the Fourth Amendment; the district court denied the motion and a jury convicted White.
- The North Dakota Supreme Court affirmed, holding the search was supported by reasonable suspicion of the roommate’s probation violation and that the plain-view discovery justified expanding the search.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the warrantless search of the shared residence violated the Fourth Amendment | The State: officers had reasonable suspicion to search based on the roommate’s failure to report and probation conditions authorized the search | White: officers conducted a suspicionless probationary search lacking reasonable suspicion, so evidence should be suppressed | Court: Affirmed — reasonable suspicion of the roommate’s probation violation supported the search; plain‑view discovery permissibly expanded it |
Key Cases Cited
- United States v. Knights, 534 U.S. 112 (probationary search reasonable if supported by reasonable suspicion and authorized by probation condition)
- Samson v. California, 547 U.S. 843 (parolees may be subject to suspicionless searches under the Fourth Amendment)
- State v. Ballard, 874 N.W.2d 61 (N.D. 2016) (suspicionless search of an unsupervised probationer held unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment)