State v. Merworth

¶ 15 I respectfully dissent from the majority opinion in this matter. The Utah Supreme Court's recent opinion in State v. Alverez, 2006 UT 61, 147 P.3d 425, held that accusatory questioning can elevate a consensual encounter with police into a level two detention. See id. at Because I conclude that the facts of Defendant's encounter with the police are functionally indistinguishable from the facts of Alveres, I conclude that Defendant was subject to a level two detention. The State has not established that the police officers had a reasonable suspicion that Defendant was engaged in criminal…