Page:State v. Brown.pdf/13

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State v. Brown
Cite as 356 Ark. 460 (2004)
[356


In Graves v. State, 708 So. 2d 858 (Miss. 1997), the Mississippi Supreme Court held to the same effect. In focusing on whether a knowledgeable waiver occurred in the "knock-and-talk" context, the court held that under the Mississippi Constitution, such a waiver is "defined as consent where the defendant knows that he or she has a right to refuse, being cognizant of his or her rights in the premises." Graves, 708 So. 2d at 864. The court remanded the case to the trial court to determine whether a knowledgeable consent had been given.

Early on, the New Jersey Supreme Court held that the United States Supreme Court decision of Schneckloth v. Bustatnonte, supra, only controlled state court decisions in their construction of the Fourth Amendment. See State v. Johnson, 68 N.J. 349, 346 A.2d 66 (1975). For purposes of the search-and-seizure provision of the New Jersey Constitution, Schneckloth was not binding, and the state of New Jersey was free to impose a higher standard under state law. The New Jersey Supreme Court did so and interpreted its state constitution to require a home dweller's knowledge of the right to refuse consent as an essential element of any voluntary consent to search.

A fourth appellate court has noted that though the United States Supreme Court has not required it, "the better practice in conducting a knock and talk investigation would be for the officer to identify himself and advise the occupant of his right to deny entry." Hayes v. State, 794 N.E.2d 492, 497 (Ind. Ct. App. 2003). The procedure, the court added, would minimize needless suppression motions, hearings, and appeals.

We are convinced that the courts in these states have reached the correct conclusion. As in the case of the State of Washington, our right-to-privacy tradition in Arkansas is "rich and compelling." Jegley v. Picado, 349 Ark. at 632, 80 S.W.3d at 349-50. We have held that there is a fundamental right to privacy in our homes implicit in the Arkansas Constitution and that any violation of that fundamental right requires a strict-scrutiny review and a compelling state interest.

[9] The dissent cites a raft of cases where this court has adhered to the Schneckloth v. Bustamonte standard when interpreting the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Only one of those cases, King v. State, 262 Ark. 342, 557 S.W.2d 386 (1977), adopted the Bustamonte standard when interpreting Article 2, § 15, of the Arkansas Constitution with respect to a knowing