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Alaska refuses to follow Hudson v. Michigan by statute

By John Wesley Hall, Jr.

The officers here failed to substantially comply with the Alaska knock and announce statute. They knocked for 20 seconds on a hotel room door, but they never announced who they were or that they had an arrest warrant. They entered with a pass key and arrested the defendant. This is not substantial compliance under Alaska case law. [Defendant waived his state constitutional argument by not raising it until the reply brief.] Hudson is not followed under Alaska statute. Berumen v. State, 2008 Alas. App. LEXIS 51 (May 2, 2008): The police officers in this case violated a longstanding requirement of Alaska law that is designed to protect the privacy and dignity of this state's citizens. On the issue of whether the police must announce their claimed authority and purpose, and on the related issue of whether the police are allowed to break into a building if they have neither sought nor been refused admittance, the statute is written in clear and unambiguous terms...continue to full post

Full post as published by Fourth Amendment on May 12, 2008 (boomark / email).