State v. Smith

I agree with the majority that the public safety exception to the dictates of Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 , 86 S.Ct. 1602 , 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), applied to the present case because the police officers had a legitimate concern about whether the defendant, Dante Smith, was armed, and whether the weapons identified by the victim, Justin Molinaro, could have been disposed of in a place where a child or other civilian might find them. 1 Here, however, well after the victim provided the police with an account of the attack and was transported for medical treatment, the defendant returned to…