State of Nebraska v. Terrence K. Gorup, 275 Neb. 280

Summary

The Nebraska Supreme Court considered whether evidence discovered during a warrantless search of the defendant's apartment was admissible. The court held that the district court failed to determine whether the initial search was a valid search incident to arrest and failed to analyze whether the defendant's subsequent consent was obtained by exploiting any prior illegality. It vacated the conviction and sentence and remanded for a new suppression hearing.

Holdings

1. When a search following an illegal entry is justified by alleged consent, the State must establish both that the consent was voluntary and that the consent was not obtained through exploitation of the prior illegality.
2. In determining whether consent was obtained by exploitation of a prior illegal search, the court must consider the circumstances of the particular case, including temporal proximity, intervening circumstances, and the purpose and flagrancy of the official misconduct.
3. The validity of the initial search under the search-incident-to-a-valid-arrest exception had not been resolved and required determination by the district court on remand.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Gorup's consent to the subsequent search was voluntary under the totality of the circumstances.
2. Whether the prior warrantless entry and search tainted Gorup's consent under the fruit-of-the-poisonous-tree doctrine.
3. Whether the initial search of the apartment was valid under the search-incident-to-a-valid-arrest exception to the warrant requirement.

Disposition

vacated