State v. William L. Witt(074468)

Persistence has paid off.

This is not the first time that the State has sought to have the decision in State v. Pena-Flores, 198 N.J. 6, 965 A.2d 114 (2009), revisited and overturned. Pena-Flores reaffirmed State v. Cooke, 163 N.J. 657, 751 A.2d 92 (2000), which held that our state constitutional law requires that exigency remain part of the analysis when reviewing law enforcement’s purported justification for searching a car in New Jersey without a warrant authorized by a neutral magistrate. Both cases held that exigency is a necessary component for a warrantless search of a ear stopped…