Summary
The Michigan Supreme Court denied Stephanie White’s application for leave to appeal concerning the sufficiency of the evidence supporting her conviction for resisting or obstructing a police officer. The concurrence explained that an arrest warrant alone does not authorize entry into a third party’s home and that the prosecution must establish the officer’s lawful presence, including a reasonable belief that the suspect lived at the residence. The concurrence also noted that White could pursue ineffective-assistance-of-counsel claims in a motion for relief from judgment.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether sufficient evidence supported a finding that Officer Green reasonably believed Stephen White lived at Stephanie White's residence, such that his entry was lawful under the Fourth Amendment and the conviction for resisting or obstructing a police officer could stand.
- Whether the defendant could pursue claims concerning trial counsel's constitutional effectiveness in a motion for relief from judgment after the Supreme Court denied leave to appeal.
Holdings
- The Michigan Supreme Court denied the application for leave to appeal because it was not persuaded that the question presented should be reviewed.
- An arrest warrant alone does not provide sufficient authority to enter the home of a third party to arrest the warrant subject; under Payton, entry into a dwelling requires a reasonable belief both that the dwelling is the suspect's residence and that the suspect is present.
Key quotations
“The application is again considered, and it is DENIED, because we are not persuaded that the question presented should be reviewed by this Court.” (2)
“Not only is an arrest warrant insufficient to provide an officer the legal authority to enter the home of a third party, Steagald, 451 US at 205-206, the prosecution is required to establish that the officer’s actions were lawful, and the lawfulness of the officer’s actions is a question for the jury, see Quinn, 305 Mich App at 494, citing Moreno, 491 Mich at 51-52.” (5)
Factual background
Officer Brent Green went to Stephanie White's home to arrest her son, Stephen White, who had outstanding warrants. When Green encountered Stephen at the back door, Stephen moved toward the front of the house, and Green entered after stopping the door from closing. White told Green that her son did not live there and that Green needed a search warrant; when she attempted to prevent Green from searching upstairs, he handcuffed her and placed her in his patrol car. White was convicted of resisting or obstructing a police officer.
Procedural history
White was convicted under MCL 750.81d(1) after resisting Officer Brent Green during his entry into her home while searching for her son. The trial court instructed the jury that an officer relying on LEIN information had legal authority to enter a house to execute an arrest warrant. The Court of Appeals entered a judgment on October 21, 2014, and the Michigan Supreme Court denied leave to appeal after oral argument. Justice McCormack concurred, explaining that the sufficiency claim failed because a rational jury could have found that the officer reasonably believed White's son lived at the residence, while noting that White could pursue ineffective-assistance claims in a motion for relief from judgment.