State of Washington v. Terry Lee Winterstein, 167 Wn. 2d 620

Summary

The Washington Supreme Court held that a probation officer must have probable cause to believe a probationer resides at a particular location before conducting a warrantless search of that residence under article I, section 7 of the Washington Constitution. The court rejected the inevitable discovery doctrine under the state constitution, reversed the Court of Appeals, and remanded for a new suppression hearing. A concurrence agreed with the remand but concluded that the existing facts established probable cause.

Holdings

1. Before conducting a warrantless search of a residence, a probation officer must have probable cause to believe that the probationer resides at that particular residence; the Terry reasonable-suspicion standard is insufficient.
2. The inevitable discovery doctrine is incompatible with article I, section 7 of the Washington Constitution and cannot be used to admit evidence obtained through a constitutional violation.

Questions Presented

1. What level of suspicion must a probation or community corrections officer possess to determine that a particular residence is the probationer's residence before conducting a warrantless search of that residence under article I, section 7 of the Washington Constitution?
2. Whether evidence obtained through an otherwise unlawful warrantless search may be admitted under the inevitable discovery doctrine under article I, section 7.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded