Summary
The Kentucky Supreme Court affirmed the denial of Kavanaugh’s motion to suppress evidence obtained after police arrested him for assaulting an officer during an investigatory encounter. The court held that Kentucky is not a stop-and-identify jurisdiction, so a person generally may decline to provide identification absent a statutory requirement. It nevertheless concluded that Kavanaugh’s assault constituted an intervening crime supporting a valid arrest and search incident to arrest, purging any taint from the initial detention.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether Kavanaugh could be arrested or prosecuted for refusing to identify himself during a Terry stop in Kentucky.
- Whether the cocaine discovered in the post-arrest search was obtained through a valid search incident to arrest despite possible illegality in the initial Terry stop or frisk.
- Whether Kavanaugh's assault of the officer constituted an intervening, independent criminal act that purged any taint from an allegedly unlawful detention.
Holdings
- Kentucky is not a stop-and-identify jurisdiction; absent a statute requiring disclosure, a person cannot be arrested and prosecuted merely for refusing to provide identification during a Terry stop.
- Kavanaugh's assault of Officer Rice gave the officer probable cause to arrest him, and the subsequent search that uncovered cocaine was a valid search incident to a valid arrest.
Key quotations
“Therefore, absent a statute requiring disclosure, Kavanaugh could not have been arrested and prosecuted for failure to provide identification.” (181)
“We conclude that Kavanaugh’s assault of Officer Rice constituted an intervening act that purged the taint, if any, that resulted from any detention which may have violated the Fourth Amendment.” (181)
Factual background
At approximately 3:40 a.m., Officer Richard Rice approached a vehicle parked with only its taillights on in a high-crime area. During the encounter, Kavanaugh refused to provide identification, resisted Rice's efforts to frisk him, and grabbed Rice in a bear hug after breaking free from the officer's grasp. Officers then arrested and searched Kavanaugh, finding 0.5 grams of crack cocaine in his pocket.
Procedural history
Kavanaugh was charged in Fayette Circuit Court with menacing and first-degree possession of a controlled substance, later amended to attempted possession of a controlled substance. After the suppression motion was denied, he entered a conditional guilty plea and received concurrent sentences followed by conditional discharge. The Court of Appeals affirmed the suppression ruling, and the Supreme Court of Kentucky affirmed.