State v. Meunier

Defendant appeals from his conviction for breaking and entering in the nighttime in violation of 13 V.S.A. § 1201. He raises issues under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution and Chapter I, Article 11 of the Vermont Constitution. In particular, he contends that the State failed to establish probable cause to arrest and that, therefore, the search incident to the arrest was constitutionally impermissible. For the reasons discussed below, we reverse the conviction and remand for a new trial.

The relevant facts are as follows. On January 6, 1978, at 2:21 a.m.,…