court of appeals decision (1-judge, not for publication); BiC; Resp Br
Search & Seizure – Warrantless Entry
O’Connell had reasonable expectation of privacy in stairwell leading to his apartment; warrantless entry to stairwell, to investigate OWI complaint against O’Connell, “was not justified by exigent circumstances because at the time of the entry, the officers had no basis to believe the underlying offense was a jailable offense.” The court implies that, had the officers determined O’Connell had a prior OWI conviction, entry would have been proper.
