State v. Brown

Resolution of the instant appeal centers exclusively on the proper application of the harmless error doctrine. As stated by the United States Supreme Court in Chapman v. California (1967), 386 U.S. 18, 22, 87 S.Ct. 824, 827, 17 L.Ed.2d 705, 709: “[T]here may be some constitutional errors which in the setting of a particular case are so unimportant and insignificant that they may, consistent with the Federal Constitution, be deemed harmless, not requiring the automatic reversal of the conviction.”

The court of appeals, in reversing appellee’s conviction, focused on the search of appellee’s van.…