State v. Steven T. Delap , 382 Wis. 2d 92 ( 2018 )

2018 WI 64
SUPREME COURT OF WISCONSIN
CASE NO.: 2016AP2196-CR
COMPLETE TITLE: State of Wisconsin,
Plaintiff-Respondent,
v.
Steven T. Delap,
Defendant-Appellant-Petitioner.
REVIEW OF A DECISION OF THE COURT OF APPEALS
Reported at 375 Wis. 2d 799, 899 N.W.2d 738
(2017 – Unpublished)
OPINION FILED: June 6, 2018
SUBMITTED ON BRIEFS:
ORAL ARGUMENT: March 12, 2018
SOURCE OF APPEAL:
COURT: Circuit
COUNTY: Dodge
JUDGE: Steven G. Bauer
JUSTICES:
CONCURRED: GABLEMAN, J., concurs, joined by KELLY, J.
(opinion filed).
DISSENTED:
NOT PARTICIPATING:
ATTORNEYS:
For the defendant-appellant-petitioner, there were briefs
and an oral argument by Michael J. Herbert, Madison.
For the plaintiff-respondent there was a brief and an oral
argument by Jennifer R. McNamee, assistant attorney general,
with whom on the brief was Brad D. Schimel, attorney general.
2018 WI 64
NOTICE
This opinion is subject to further
editing and modification. The final
version will appear in the bound
volume of the official reports.
No. 2016AP2196-CR
(L.C. No. 2015CM408)
STATE OF WISCONSIN : IN SUPREME COURT
State of Wisconsin,
Plaintiff-Respondent,
FILED
v.
JUN 6, 2018
Steven T. Delap,
Sheila T. Reiff
Defendant-Appellant-Petitioner. Clerk of Supreme Court
REVIEW of a decision of the Court of Appeals. Affirmed.
¶1 SHIRLEY S. ABRAHAMSON, J. This is a review of an
unpublished decision of the court of appeals affirming a
judgment of conviction of the Circuit Court for Dodge County,
Steven G. Bauer, Judge.1 Steven Delap, the defendant, was
convicted of obstructing an officer in violation of Wis. Stat.
1
State v. Delap, No. 2016AP2196-CR, unpublished slip op.
(Wis. Ct. App. Apr. 20, 2017). The case was decided by one
judge pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 752.31(2)(f) (2015-16). All
subsequent references to the Wisconsin Statutes are to the 2015-
16 version unless otherwise indicated.
No. 2016AP2196-CR
§ 946.41(1) and possession of drug paraphernalia in violation of
Wis. Stat. § 961.573(1), both as a repeater.
¶2 In the circuit court, the defendant claimed that his
arrest was unlawful and that the evidence seized should be
suppressed. The defendant argued that law enforcement officers,
who had two valid warrants for his arrest, unlawfully attempted
to stop him in the driveway of his home, unlawfully pursued him
into his home to effectuate his arrest, and unlawfully seized
evidence obtained from a search incident to his arrest.
¶3 The defendant claims that the arrest and subsequent
search violated his rights under the Fourth Amendment of the
United States Constitution and Article I, Section 11 of the
Wisconsin Constitution.
¶4 The circuit court denied the defendant's motion to
suppress the evidence. The circuit court concluded that the hot
pursuit doctrine permitted the law enforcement officers in the
instant case to follow the defendant into his home to effectuate
his arrest. Relying on the hot pursuit doctrine, the court of
appeals affirmed the circuit court's denial of the defendant's
motion to suppress evidence.
¶5 We affirm the decision of the court of appeals, but on
grounds different than those relied upon by the circuit court
and court of appeals. We conclude that the instant case is
2
No. 2016AP2196-CR
governed by Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573 (1980), and we need
not address the applicability of the hot pursuit doctrine.2
¶6 In Payton, the United States Supreme Court declared
that "for Fourth Amendment purposes, an arrest warrant founded
on probable cause implicitly carries with it the limited
authority to enter a dwelling in which the suspect lives when
there is reason to believe the suspect is within." Payton, 445
U.S. at 603.
¶7 In the instant case, law enforcement officers had two
valid arrest warrants based on probable cause for the arrest of
the defendant. The facts and circumstances known to the
officers at the time they located the defendant were sufficient
to form probable cause to believe that the individual they saw
entering the residence was the defendant and that the defendant
lived in the residence into which he fled.
¶8 Thus, applying the teachings of Payton, we conclude
that the law enforcement officers in the instant case lawfully
entered the defendant's residence to execute the two valid
warrants for the defendant's arrest and lawfully seized evidence
discovered in the search incident to the defendant's arrest.3
2
We note that although the circuit court and court of
appeals did not rely on Payton, the parties briefed and argued
the application of Payton to the facts of the instant case while
in this court.
3
Because we affirm the decision of the court of appeals
under the Supreme Court's decision in Payton, we need not (and
do not) address the issue of whether the hot pursuit doctrine
permitted the law enforcement officers in the instant case to
follow the defendant into his home to effectuate his arrest.
3
No. 2016AP2196-CR
¶9 Accordingly, we affirm the decision of the court of
appeals.
I
¶10 The following facts are taken from the testimony
elicited at the hearing on the defendant's motion to suppress
evidence and from the circuit court's findings based on that
testimony.
¶11 On September 6, 2015, Sergeant Michael Willmann and
Deputy Dustin Waas of the Dodge County Sheriff's Department
arrested the defendant in his home.
¶12 Approximately one month prior to the defendant's
arrest, Sergeant Willmann overheard that his colleague, Deputy
John Gallenbeck, "conduct[ed] a traffic stop on a vehicle where
the driver subsequently fled from the vehicle and went into a
wooded area and deputies were unable to locate him." Deputy
Gallenbeck had learned from a passenger in the vehicle that the
fleeing driver "was Steven Delap [the defendant] and that he was
living at 110 Milwaukee Street in Neosho."
¶13 Approximately one week prior to the defendant's
arrest, Sergeant Willmann "received a teletype correspondence
from the Walworth County Sheriff's Office stating that [the
defendant] was involved in a very similar incident . . . where
he had fled from a traffic stop in the same type of manner."
The teletype indicated that the defendant lived at 110 Milwaukee
Street.
¶14 Sergeant Willmann ran the defendant's name through
Wisconsin Department of Transportation and National Crime
4
No. 2016AP2196-CR
Information Center files which turned up two valid and
outstanding warrants for the defendant's arrest: one through
Jefferson County and another through the Wisconsin Department of
Corrections. Because of the defendant's prior history of
fleeing police, Sergeant Willmann requested that Deputy Waas
accompany him to arrest the defendant pursuant to the two arrest
warrants.
¶15 At about 10:00 p.m. on September 6, 2015, Sergeant
Willmann and Deputy Waas went to 110 Milwaukee Street in Neosho
to arrest the defendant pursuant to the two outstanding arrest
warrants. Sergeant Willmann was in full uniform: green pants,
tan shirt, patches, a badge, and a duty belt. The officers
parked about a block away from 110 Milwaukee Street out of
concern that the defendant "would either run or not answer the
door" if they parked closer. They left their vehicles and
walked down Milwaukee Street, counting down the numbers on the
houses as they went. Sergeant Willman recalled that the last
building number he counted was 120 before seeing the final
building on the 100 block of Milwaukee Street. That building
was a duplex, and based on his counting, Sergeant Willmann
believed that one of the two doors at the duplex had to be 110
Milwaukee Street.
¶16 When Sergeant Willmann walked "towards what [he]
believed [was] the residence," he saw a man standing next to a
car parked on Milwaukee Street and another man walking down the
driveway in front of the duplex towards that car. As Sergeant
Willmann and Deputy Waas approached, the man who was walking
5
No. 2016AP2196-CR
down the driveway turned and looked at the officers before
turning around and running towards the back of the duplex.
Sergeant Willmann shined his flashlight on the individual and
shouted, "Stop, police!" but the man did not stop and instead
continued running towards the back of the duplex.
¶17 Sergeant Willmann gave chase. Based upon the man's
proximity to 110 Milwaukee Street and his reaction upon seeing
the two police officers, Sergeant Willmann believed that the
fleeing man was the defendant, Steven Delap.
¶18 When the man got to the rear door of the residence, he
went inside and began shutting the door. Sergeant Willmann used
his shoulder to "keep the door from latching completely shut."
Sergeant Willmann and the man pushed back and forth on the door
until Deputy Waas joined Sergeant Willmann. The two police
officers together pushed the door open.
¶19 At some point, one of the officers pulled out his
Taser, "got [the defendant] to the ground, [and] got [the
defendant] in cuffs." After the arrest, the fleeing individual
was identified as Steven Delap, the defendant.
¶20 A subsequent search incident to the defendant's arrest
revealed three syringes and a silver tube used for smoking crack
cocaine in the defendant's right cargo pocket.
¶21 The defendant was charged with one count of
obstructing an officer in violation of Wis. Stat. § 946.41(1)
and possession of drug paraphernalia in violation of Wis. Stat.
§ 961.573(1), both as a repeater.
6
No. 2016AP2196-CR
¶22 The defendant moved to suppress the evidence obtained
as a result of the search incident to his arrest. The defendant
argued that the officers' attempt to stop him while he was still
in his driveway was unlawful, and further, that it was unlawful
for the officers to pursue him into his home in order to arrest
him.
¶23 At the suppression hearing, the circuit court seemed
inclined to rule that the officers lawfully entered the
defendant's home under the rationale announced in Payton v. New
York, 445 U.S. 573 (1980). The circuit court stated that "[t]he
bottom line is there's a legitimate arrest warrant for you and
the police officer[s], through their investigation, had reason
to believe and probable cause that you lived there, okay.
That's all I needed, probable cause that you lived there and
they had the arrest warrant. That's enough."
¶24 Nevertheless, the circuit court's written order denied
the defendant's motion on the basis that the officers' entry
into the home was permitted under the hot pursuit doctrine. The
defendant pleaded no contest to the charges against him and
appealed. The court of appeals affirmed the conviction, relying
on the hot pursuit doctrine.
II
¶25 We begin by setting forth the applicable standard of
review.
¶26 "Our review of an order granting or denying a motion
to suppress evidence presents a question of constitutional
fact." State v. Robinson, 2010 WI 80, ¶22, 327 Wis. 2d 302, 786
7
No. 2016AP2196-CR
N.W.2d 463; see also State v. Iverson, 2015 WI 101, ¶17, 365
Wis. 2d 302, 871 N.W.2d 661 (quoting Robinson).
¶27 "When presented with a question of constitutional
fact, this court engages in a two-step inquiry. First, we
review the circuit court's findings of historical fact under a
deferential standard, upholding them unless they are clearly
erroneous. Second, we independently apply constitutional
principles to those facts." Robinson, 327 Wis. 2d 302, ¶22
(citations omitted); see also Iverson, 365 Wis. 2d 302, ¶18;
State v. Hogan, 2015 WI 76, ¶32, 364 Wis. 2d 167, 868
N.W.2d 124.
III
¶28 For purposes of this review, no dispute exists about
the historical facts. No party argues (and we do not conclude)
that any of the circuit court's findings of fact based on the
testimony are clearly erroneous. Therefore, we apply the
relevant constitutional principles to the historical facts.
¶29 The relevant constitutional principles are set forth
in Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573 (1980).
¶30 The United States Supreme Court declared in Payton
that "for Fourth Amendment purposes, an arrest warrant founded
on probable cause implicitly carries with it the limited
authority to enter a dwelling in which the suspect lives when
there is reason to believe the suspect is within." Payton, 445
U.S. at 603.
¶31 The Supreme Court has further explained Payton,
stating that the Payton Court "recognized that an arrest warrant
8
No. 2016AP2196-CR
alone was sufficient to authorize the entry into a person's home
to effect his arrest. . . . Because an arrest warrant authorizes
the police to deprive a person of his liberty, it necessarily
also authorizes a limited invasion of that person's privacy
interest when it is necessary to arrest him in his home."
Steagald v. United States, 451 U.S. 204, 214 n.7 (1981).
¶32 Under Payton, police may enter a residence pursuant to
an arrest warrant if two factors are present: "(1) the facts
and circumstances present the police with a reasonable belief
that the subject of the arrest warrant resides in the home; and
(2) the facts and circumstances present the police with a
reasonable belief that the subject of the arrest warrant is
present in the home at the time entry is effected." State v.
Blanco, 2000 WI App 119, ¶16, 237 Wis. 2d 395, 614 N.W.2d 512.
¶33 The federal circuit courts are divided regarding what
Payton meant by a "reasonable belief." See United States v.
Hill, 649 F.3d 258, 262-63 (4th Cir. 2011) (noting that some
circuits have equated "reasonable belief" with "probable cause"
while others have concluded that "reasonable belief" means
something less stringent than "probable cause").
¶34 We need not (and do not) decide today whether
"reasonable belief" means "probable cause" or something less
stringent because, in the instant case, the officers had
9
No. 2016AP2196-CR
probable cause to believe that the defendant resided in the
duplex into which he fled.4
¶35 We have explained that "probable cause eschews
technicality and legalisms in favor of a flexible, common-sense
measure of the plausibility of particular conclusions about
human behavior." State v. Kiper, 193 Wis. 2d 69, 83, 532
N.W.2d 698 (1995) (internal quotation marks and quoted source
omitted). For probable cause to exist, "[t]he quantum of
evidence must constitute 'more than a possibility or suspicion
that defendant committed an offense, but the evidence need not
reach the level of proof beyond a reasonable doubt or even that
guilt is more likely than not. The information which
constitutes probable cause is measured by the facts of the
particular case.'" Id. at 82 (quoting State v. Mitchell, 167
Wis. 2d 672, 681-82, 482 N.W.2d 364 (1992)).
¶36 The first factor, whether the police had probable
cause to believe that the defendant resided in the home, is at
issue in the instant case.5 The defendant argues that the police
officers in the instant case did not have probable cause to
4
Moreover, this issue was not briefed or argued by the
parties in the instant case. Because the resolution of this
issue is unnecessary to the resolution of the instant case, we
leave for another day the meaning of Payton's "reasonable
belief" language. See Jamerson v. Dep't of Children & Families,
2013 WI 7, ¶57, 345 Wis. 2d 205, 824 N.W.2d 822; Pool v. City of
Sheboygan, 2007 WI 38, ¶19, 300 Wis. 2d 74, 729 N.W.2d 415.
5
The second factor is not at issue. No one disputes that
the police had probable cause to believe that the defendant was
present in the dwelling at the time of the officers' entry.
10
No. 2016AP2196-CR
believe that he was the subject of the arrest warrants (i.e.,
that the fleeing man was Steven Delap) or that he resided in the
dwelling into which he fled. We are not persuaded by the
defendant's arguments.
¶37 The following facts known to the police officers
support a finding of probable cause to believe that the fleeing
individual was Steven Delap and that the individual resided in
the dwelling into which he fled:
• Steven Delap had two outstanding warrants for his
arrest: one from Jefferson County and one from the
Wisconsin Department of Corrections.
• Steven Delap had a prior history of fleeing from
police officers.
• Approximately one month prior to the defendant's
arrest, Sergeant Willmann overheard that Steven Delap
had fled a traffic stop conducted by one of his
colleagues, and that a passenger in the vehicle said
that Steven Delap lived at 110 Milwaukee Street in
Neosho.
• Approximately one week prior to the defendant's
arrest, Sergeant Willmann received a teletype
correspondence from the Walworth County Sheriff's
Office stating that Steven Delap was again involved in
fleeing a traffic stop. The teletype indicated that
Steven Delap lived at 110 Milwaukee Street.
• As he and Deputy Waas walked down Milwaukee Street,
Sergeant Willmann counted down the numbers on the
11
No. 2016AP2196-CR
houses. When he reached number 120, there was only
one other building on the 100 block of Milwaukee
Street: a duplex that Sergeant Willmann deduced must
include 110 Milwaukee Street.
• As Sergeant Willmann and Deputy Waas approached the
duplex, a man who was walking down the driveway
noticed the officers, turned around, and began running
towards the back of the duplex. Sergeant Willmann was
in full uniform when the man noticed the officers and
fled. Sergeant Willmann shined his flashlight on the
man and shouted, "Stop, police!" but the man continued
running towards the back of the duplex.
¶38 Taken together, the facts and circumstances presented
to Sergeant Willmann and Deputy Waas establish probable cause to
believe that the man in the driveway of 110 Milwaukee Street who
turned and ran after noticing the police officers was Steven
Delap, the subject of the arrest warrants who had a prior
history of fleeing police and who was believed to reside at 110
Milwaukee Street.
¶39 The defendant offers two other arguments, both of
which are undeveloped and perplexing.
¶40 The defendant contends, without explanation, that the
officers did not know that the outstanding arrest warrants were
supported by probable cause as determined by a neutral
magistrate. Arrest warrants must be supported by probable
12
No. 2016AP2196-CR
cause.6 The language of Payton requires only a valid arrest
warrant, a reasonable belief that the subject of the warrant
resides in a particular dwelling, and a reasonable belief that
the subject of the warrant will be present in the dwelling at
the time of entry. Payton, 445 U.S. at 603. Payton does not
require the specific arresting officers to also have personal
knowledge regarding the issuance of the arrest warrant. The
defendant does not argue or contend that the two warrants issued
for his arrest in the instant case lacked probable cause, only
that Sergeant Willmann and Deputy Waas did not have personal
knowledge regarding the issuance of the two warrants.
Accordingly, we reject the defendant's argument.
¶41 The defendant also asserts that even if the officers'
entry into his home was permissible under Payton, his arrest was
nonetheless unreasonable because of the officers' use of force
and display of weapons. The defendant fails to explain how the
police officers' use of force in the instant case overrides the
officers' authority to enter the home to execute the two valid
6
State v. Ritchie, 2000 WI App 136, ¶12, 237 Wis. 2d 664,
614 N.W.2d 837 (quoting Wayne R. LaFave, Search and Seizure
§ 5.1(g), at 50 (3d ed. 1996)):
The requirement of the Fourth Amendment that no
warrant shall issue, but upon probable cause,
supported by oath or affirmation and particularly
describing the person or things to be seized, applies
to arrest warrants as well as search warrants, and
thus much of what [is] said . . . with respect to the
issuance of search warrants applies by analogy to
arrest warrants.
13
No. 2016AP2196-CR
outstanding arrest warrants or how the use of force in the
instant case was unreasonable.
¶42 Applying Payton to the undisputed facts, we conclude
that the police officers' entry into the defendant's home to
execute two valid warrants for the defendant's arrest was
permissible. We therefore affirm the decision of the court of
appeals affirming the defendant's judgment of conviction.
By the Court.—The decision of the court of appeals is
affirmed.
14
No. 2016AP2196-CR.mjg
¶43 MICHAEL J. GABLEMAN, J. (Concurring). I agree with
the majority that the entry into Delap's residence was lawful
pursuant to Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573 (1980), and,
consequently, his conviction should be affirmed.1 However, I
would go further and also answer the question of whether the
officers' entry into Delap's residence was lawful pursuant to
the hot pursuit doctrine. See, e.g., State v. Washington, 2018
WI 3, ¶¶61-68, 379 Wis. 2d 58, 905 N.W.2d 380 (Gableman, J.,
joined by R.G. Bradley and Kelly, JJ, concurring) ("I would go
further and hold that Washington forfeited his right to be
present at trial."); Leavitt v. Beverly Enters., 2010 WI 71,
¶¶59-62, 326 Wis. 2d 421, 784 N.W.2d 683 (Ziegler, J.,
concurring) ("I write separately because I would go further and
decide that an order compelling arbitration is not appealable as
a matter of right.").
¶44 Though appellate courts should generally decide cases
on the narrowest possible grounds, State v. Toliver, 2014 WI 85,
¶12, 356 Wis. 2d 642, 851 N.W.2d 251, I would make an exception
in this case for three reasons: (1) the circuit court and court
of appeals based their respective decisions on hot pursuit;2 (2)
1
I join the majority opinion except the last sentence of ¶5
and footnote three.
2
The circuit court relied on both Payton v. New York, 445
U.S. 573 (1980) and hot pursuit in its oral decision denying
Delap's motion to suppress. However, in its written order, the
circuit court relied only on hot pursuit. In addition, the
court of appeals relied only on hot pursuit in affirming Delap's
conviction. State v. Delap, 2016AP2196-CR, unpublished slip op.
(Wis. Ct. App. April 20, 2017).
1
No. 2016AP2196-CR.mjg
Delap presented only the hot pursuit question in his petition
for review;3 and (3) answering the hot pursuit question in this
case may serve to alleviate any confusion stemming from our
splintered decision in State v. Weber, 2016 WI 96, 372 Wis. 2d
202, 887 N.W.2d 554.
I. THE OFFICERS WERE IN HOT PURSUIT OF DELAP WHEN THEY ENTERED
HIS HOME.
¶45 "The Fourth Amendment to the United States
Constitution and Article I, Section 11 of the Wisconsin
Constitution protect the right of people to be secure in their
persons . . . against unreasonable searches and seizures."
State v. Tullberg, 2014 WI 134, ¶29, 359 Wis. 2d 421, 857 N.W.2d
120. This protection also bars police entry into a private
residence without consent or a warrant. Welsh v. Wisconsin, 466
U.S. 740, 748 (1984). Wisconsin "adhere[s] to the basic
principle that warrantless searches[, or entries,] are per se
unreasonable unless they fall within a well-recognized exception
to the warrant requirement." State v. Foster, 2014 WI 131, ¶32,
360 Wis. 2d 12, 856 N.W.2d 847. One well-recognized exception
to the warrant requirement is the exigent circumstances
doctrine. State v. Robinson, 2010 WI 80, ¶24, 327 Wis. 2d 302,
786 N.W.2d 463. The exigent circumstances doctrine provides
that a warrantless search is reasonable under the Fourth
3
The State raised Payton in its response brief to this
court. Though petitioners may address only issues raised in the
petition for review, respondents (such as the State in this
case) may advance any argument in support of the judgment below.
Cynthia E. v. La Crosse Cty. Human Servs., 172 Wis. 2d 218, 233,
493 N.W.2d 56 (1992).
2
No. 2016AP2196-CR.mjg
Amendment if the need for the search is urgent and there is
insufficient time to obtain a warrant. Tullberg, 359 Wis. 2d
421, ¶30.
¶46 We have identified four categories of exigent
circumstances: "1) hot pursuit of a suspect, 2) a threat to the
safety of a suspect or others, 3) a risk that evidence will be
destroyed, and 4) a likelihood that the suspect will flee."
State v. Howes, 2017 WI 18, ¶24, 373 Wis. 2d 468, 893 N.W.2d 812
(quoting State v. Richter, 2000 WI 58, ¶29, 235 Wis. 2d 524, 612
N.W.2d 29). The burden is on the State to "prov[e] that a
warrantless home entry is justified by exigent circumstances."
State v. Ferguson, 2009 WI 50, ¶20, 317 Wis. 2d 586, 767 N.W.2d
187. In the present matter, we are concerned with only the
first category of exigent circumstances: hot pursuit.
¶47 The hot pursuit exception applies when officers are in
"immediate or continuous pursuit of [a suspect] from the scene
of a crime." State v. Weber, 2016 WI 96, ¶28, 372 Wis. 2d 202,
887 N.W.2d 554 (quoting Richter, 235 Wis. 2d 524, ¶29). Thus,
the State must show that: (1) the officers were in immediate
pursuit of the suspect; and (2) the officers had probable cause
to arrest the fleeing suspect for a "jailable criminal offense."
State v. Sanders, 2008 WI 85, ¶117, 311 Wis. 2d 257, 752 N.W.2d
713 (Prosser, J., concurring) (citing Welsh, 466 U.S. at 753).
A. The Officers were in Immediate Pursuit of Delap
¶48 The first element of the hot pursuit test requires
that the officers actually be engaged in pursuing or chasing the
defendant. While "'hot pursuit' means some sort of
3
No. 2016AP2196-CR.mjg
chase, . . . it need not be an extended hue and cry in and about
public streets." United States v. Santana, 427 U.S. 38, 43
(1976). A pursuit or chase that ends "almost as soon as it
began [does] not render it any less a 'hot pursuit' sufficient
to justify the warrantless entry." Sanders, 311 Wis. 2d 257,
¶109 (Prosser, J., concurring) (citing Santana, 427 U.S. at 43).
"[A] suspect may not defeat an arrest which has been set in
motion in a public place, and is therefore proper under [United
States v. Watson, 423 U.S. 411 (1976)], by the expedient of
escaping into a private place." Santana, 427 U.S. at 40.
Law enforcement is not a child’s game of prisoner[’]s
base, or a contest, with apprehension and conviction
depending upon whether the officer or defendant is the
fleetest of foot. A police officer in continuous
pursuit of a perpetrator of a crime committed in the
officer’s presence . . . must be allowed to follow the
suspect into a private place, or the suspect’s home if
he chooses to flee there, and effect the arrest
without a warrant.
Weber, 372 Wis. 2d 202, ¶30 (quoting Sanders, 311 Wis. 2d 257,
¶133 (Prosser, J., concurring)).
¶49 Stated otherwise, "[a]n officer in 'hot pursuit' does
not need to make a split-second determination about the
availability of 'hot pursuit' as an exigency . . . . [He must]
determin[e] whether there is probable cause to make an arrest
for a jailable crime. Presuming probable cause, pursuit . . .
is justified." Sanders, 311 Wis. 2d 257, ¶117 (Prosser, J.,
concurring).
¶50 This element of the hot pursuit test is satisfied by
the circumstances of the chase from Delap's driveway to his
doorway. Although the chase was short, it nonetheless qualifies
4
No. 2016AP2196-CR.mjg
as a chase because Sgt. Willmann pursued Delap from his driveway
into his home after identifying himself as a police officer and
ordering Delap to stop. See Santana, 427 U.S. at 43; Sanders,
311 Wis. 2d 257, ¶109 (Prosser, J., concurring).
B. The Officers had Probable Cause to Arrest Delap for a
Jailable Offense.
¶51 The second element of hot pursuit requires that the
officers had probable cause to believe that the defendant
committed a jailable offense at the time of the chase. See
Ferguson, 317 Wis. 2d 586, ¶29. "[I]n evaluating whether a
warrantless entry is justified by exigent circumstances,
[courts] should consider whether the underlying offense is a
jailable or nonjailable offense, rather than whether the
legislature has labeled that offense a felony or misdemeanor."
Id. (citing Welsh, 466 U.S. at 753 (holding that a noncriminal
traffic offense was not serious enough for exigent circumstances
to exist); Sanders, 311 Wis. 2d 257, ¶93 (Prosser, J.,
concurring)).
¶52 Here, the officers had probable cause that Delap
committed the jailable offense of obstructing an officer
contrary to Wis. Stat. § 946.41(1). Obstructing an officer is a
class A misdemeanor punishable by up to 9 months in jail and/or
a fine not to exceed $10,000. Wis. Stat. § 946.41(1); see also
Wis. Stat. § 939.51(3)(a).
¶53 In order to convict a person of obstructing an
officer, the State must prove that the person knowingly: (1)
obstructed an officer; (2) while the officer was doing any act
in an official capacity; and (3) the officer was acting with
5
No. 2016AP2196-CR.mjg
lawful authority.4 Wis. Stat. § 946.41(1); see also State v.
Lossman, 118 Wis. 2d 526, 536, 348 N.W.2d 159 (1984).
¶54 Delap's conduct provided the officers with probable
cause to believe he violated all three elements. First, Delap
knowingly obstructed the officers when he fled from them. State
v. Grobstick, 200 Wis. 2d 242, 249-50, 546 N.W.2d 187 (Ct. App.
1996).
¶55 Second, Delap knew the officers were acting in their
official capacity because: (1) the officers were the only
people walking up the street at the time; (2) the officers were
shining their flashlights in the direction of Delap; (3) the
officers were in full uniform; and (4) the officers yelled
"stop——police" when they saw Delap. Sanders, 311 Wis. 2d 257,
¶121 (Prosser, J., concurring) (citing City of Middletown v.
Flinchum, 765 N.E.2d 330, 331 (Ohio 2002)).
¶56 Third, we are to look at the totality of the
circumstances to determine whether Delap knew the officers were
acting with lawful authority. See Lossman, 118 Wis. 2d at 543-
44 ("[I]n order for the [S]tate to prove that the defendant knew
or believed that the officer was acting with lawful authority,
the defendant's subjective intent must be ascertained, based on
the totality of the circumstances."). Many of the same facts
4
The pattern jury instructions list four elements for the
crime of obstructing an officer. Wis. JI——Criminal 1766 (2010).
This is so because the pattern jury instructions construe the
necessary mens rea (knowing) as a separate, fourth element of
the offense. Id.; see also State v. Young, 2006 WI 98, ¶57, 294
Wis. 2d 1, 717 N.W.2d 729.
6
No. 2016AP2196-CR.mjg
that demonstrate Delap knew the officers were acting in their
official capacities also demonstrate that he knew they were
acting with lawful authority: (1) the officers were in uniform;
(2) the officers were wearing their standard service belt; and
(3) the officers yelled that they were police when Delap started
running. See id. (holding that jury could infer defendant knew
officer was acting with lawful authority because defendant: (1)
saw the officer in uniform; (2) saw the officer's holstered
weapon; and (3) was told why the officer was on his property).
Based on these facts, the officers had probable cause to believe
Delap committed the jailable offense of obstructing an officer.
II. CONCLUSION
¶57 In his petition for review, Delap raised the issue of
whether his arrest fell within the hot pursuit exception to the
warrant requirement under the Fourth Amendment——the basis on
which the court of appeals affirmed his conviction. State v.
Delap, 2016AP2196-CR, unpublished slip op. (Wis. Ct. App. April
20, 2017). While I both fully understand that "it is axiomatic
that this court is not bound by the issues presented or the
arguments made by the parties,"5 and agree with the majority's
application of Payton, 445 U.S. 573, I believe it would have
been prudent for the court to address the hot pursuit exception
to help resolve any confusion stemming from our splintered
decision in Weber, 372 Wis. 2d 202 last term.
5
State v. Alexander, 2015 WI 6, ¶83, 360 Wis. 2d 292, 858
N.W.2d 662 (Gableman, J., concurring); see also Springer v. Nohl
Elec. Prods. Corp., 2018 WI 48, ¶41, ___ Wis. 2d ___, ___
N.W.2d ___.
7
No. 2016AP2196-CR.mjg
¶58 Accordingly, I respectfully concur.
¶59 I am authorized to state that Justice DANIEL KELLY
joins this concurrence.
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No. 2016AP2196-CR.mjg
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