SUPREME COURT RULES DEPUTY LEGALLY ENTERED HOME

Owner gave permission to search for burglar; officer found
marijuana

By Steven Walters of the Journal Sentinel staff

Madison - A Marinette County deputy searching for a possible burglar
legally entered the trailer home of a man later charged with dealing
marijuana based on what the deputy found inside the trailer, the state
Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.

Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson, who dissented with Justice Ann Walsh
Bradley, called the decision "just one more in a line of recent cases
in which the court has not been sufficiently protective of the privacy
of the home."

But the court ruled, 5-2, that marijuana found in a plastic bag,
hanging from a hanger in a closet, and two portable scales could be
used as evidence against Patrick E. Richter. He had been awakened by
the deputy and gave the officer permission to search for a possible
burglar.

Although Richter's attorney had argued that the 4:30 a.m. search on
Oct. 12, 1997, was illegal because the deputy did not have a warrant,
and the deputy was not in "hot pursuit" of a suspect he had seen, the
five justices dismissed his arguments.

Writing for the majority, Justice Diane Sykes said Deputy Rick Berlin
was not overly zealous when he first shone a flashlight into the
window of Richter's trailer, woke up a couple sleeping on the floor,
explained the reported burglary to the couple and then woke up Richter.

Given those circumstances, and a fear that a burglar could hurt those
sleeping in the trailer home, Sykes concluded, "A reasonable officer
would be completely warranted in the belief that a threat to safety
existed."

"There is simply no evidence . . . to suggest that Berlin entered
Richter's home with ulterior motives, to undermine Richter's rights,
to pressure him to consent or to otherwise exploit the situation in
hopes of finding evidence against Richter," Sykes added.

Based on marijuana found by Berlin, and more marijuana later found by
officers who had obtained a search warrant, Richter was charged as a
repeat offender with manufacturing marijuana, marijuana possession and
possessing drug paraphernalia.

According to court documents, the deputy went to the Golden Sands
Trailer Park in Marinette and was told by a woman and her husband that
someone had broken into their mobile home and later was seen entering
Richter's trailer.

The deputy then went to Richter's trailer and, seeing that a window
screen had been knocked out, feared that a burglar was inside. He
shone his flashlight, awoke the sleeping couple, who told him the
trailer was owned by Richter, and then explained the possible burglar
to Richter.

A fourth person sleeping in Richter's trailer matched the description
of the suspected burglar, according to court records.

Richter's attorney was not available for comment Tuesday.