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Police aid to a bondsman required that the gun found on entry be suppressed

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

Officers actively assisting a bailbondsman in apprehending the defendant made the entry one governed by the Fourth Amendment. The state was also held to have waived standing by not asserting it in the trial court. State v. Gutierrez, 2008 NMCA 18, 2007 N.M. App. LEXIS 157 (November 26, 2007), certiorari granted, No. 30,801, January 22, 2008: [*19] When we consider Defendant's argument, we find persuasive the reasoning of the Maryland Court of Special Appeals and Court of Appeals that when an officer's "stand by service" to assist a bail bondsman in apprehending a fugitive becomes "more than mere presence," the officer's participation converts the bail bondsman into a state actor such that the requirements of the Fourth Amendment apply to all participants...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on February 22, 2008 (boomark / email).