Commonwealth v. Taylor

I agree with the opinion announcing the judgment of the court (“opinion of judgment”) that the search of the basement exceeded the scope of the warrant for the G Service Conve*160nience Store. Unlike the opinion of judgment, however, I do not believe that the search of the basement was justified as a legitimate protective sweep and therefore, I must also respectfully dissent.

The government bears a heavy burden of proving that a warrantless search was constitutional. United States v. Jeffers, 342 U.S. 48, 51, 72 S.Ct. 93, 96 L.Ed. 59 (1951); United States v. Brightwell, 563 F.2d 569, 574 (3rd…