The opinion
Robert H. Dudley, Justice, dissenting. The majority opinion holds that the police may validly arrest a person in his motel room, even though the police do not have a warrant of arrest and there were no exigent circumstances.
“Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573 (1980), held that, absent probable cause and exigent circumstances, warrantless arrests in the home are prohibited by the Fourth Amendment.” Welsh v. Wisconsin, 466 U.S. 740 (1984). The Fourth Amendment protection extends to a hotel room which a defendant had permission to use. United States v. Jeffers, 342 U.S.48 (1951).In this case, no exigent circumstances existed, and none are shown to have existed by the majority opinion.
The majority opinion suggests that the illegal arrest was validated because the defendant did not resist the entry by the police. The suggestion of consent is not well-taken. The mere submission to authority is not consent to an illegal arrest. Further, there is a presumption against the waiver of constitutional rights. Johnson v. Zerbst, 304 U.S. 458 (1938).
The arrest was illegal and the exclusionary rule should have been applied. Accordingly, I dissent.