State v. Carter

Two off-duty investigators discovered an illegally modified firearm at a gun training class. The trial court suppressed the gun at trial, holding that the off-duty investigators should not have examined or seized the gun without a warrant. The Court of Appeals affirmed and the State appeals. The defendant had no expectation of privacy in his rifle when he put it in open view of the class and invited the students to handle it. Therefore, we hold that the investigators did not need a warrant to examine the rifle. We also hold that exigent circumstances existed which entitled the investigators…