State v. Zapp

BURNETT, Judge.

In this case we examine the constitutional limits of police authority to detain citizens and to search their belongings without warrants and without probable cause. The case comes to us on appeal by the state from an order suppressing evidence found in a warrantless search. We affirm the order.

John Zapp unexpectedly encountered the Boise police when he called at a friend’s house one night. The friend, Zapp soon learned, had been arrested earlier that evening when a probation officer’s home visit resulted in discovery of marijuana. When Zapp arrived, police officers were still…