State v. Kelly

OPINION OF THE COURT BY

WAKATSUKI, J.

Defendant-Appellant Patrick Kelly was convicted of promoting a dangerous drug in the first degree in violation of Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) § 712-1241 (1 )(a)(i). The trial court denied Kelly’s motion to suppress evidence on grounds that exigent circumstances existed when Officer McCarthy, without a warrant, entered Kelly’s residence to recover a photo album containing cocaine in the front cover. We reverse.

I

The issues in this appeal are: (1) whether the warrantless installation of a transponder, an electronic beeper device more commonly known as a…