Error by police dispatcher in invalid arrest warrant requires suppression of evidence under NJ Constitution. State v. Handy 206 NJ 39 (2011)
The dispatcher’s conduct – advising an officer on the scene that there was an outstanding warrant when the warrant contained a differently spelled name and a different date of birth – was objectively unreasonable and violated the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, Paragraph 7, of the New Jersey Constitution. Evidence uncovered during the search incident to the arrest must be suppressed.
