Order Michigan Supreme Court
Lansing, Michigan
March 29, 2019 Bridget M. McCormack,
Chief Justice
David F. Viviano,
Chief Justice Pro Tem
157210
Stephen J. Markman
Brian K. Zahra
Richard H. Bernstein
Elizabeth T. Clement
PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, Megan K. Cavanagh,
Plaintiff-Appellee, Justices
v SC: 157210
COA: 322820
Livingston CC: 12-020831-FH
DENNIS KEITH TOWNE,
Defendant-Appellant.
_________________________________________/
On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the December 19, 2017
judgment of the Court of Appeals is considered. We direct the Clerk to schedule oral
argument on the application. MCR 7.305(H)(1).
The appellant shall file a supplemental brief within 42 days of the date of this
order addressing: (1) whether the police exceeded the proper scope of a knock and talk
when they approached and secured the defendant’s home at night while attempting to
execute an arrest warrant for the defendant’s son, who lived elsewhere, see People v
Frederick, 500 Mich 228 (2017); (2) whether the police had sufficient grounds to believe
that the subject of the arrest warrant was inside the defendant’s home; (3) the appropriate
standard to be used by a reviewing court to determine whether the police are permitted to
enter a third-party’s home or curtilage to execute an arrest warrant, see Steagald v United
States, 451 US 204 (1981); United States v Pruitt, 458 F3d 477 (CA 6, 2006); United
States v Hardin, 539 F3d 404 (CA 6, 2008); (4) if the proper scope of a knock and talk
was not exceeded in this case, whether the plain view or exigent circumstances
exceptions to the warrant requirement permitted the police to forcibly enter the
defendant’s home based on an officer’s perceptions while posted at the rear of the home
in the curtilage or in an “open field”; and (5) whether the exclusionary rule should apply
under these circumstances.
In addition to the brief, the appellant shall electronically file an appendix
conforming to MCR 7.312(D)(2). In the brief, citations to the record must provide the
appendix page numbers as required by MCR 7.312(B)(1). The appellee shall file a
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supplemental brief within 21 days of being served with the appellant’s brief. The
appellee shall also electronically file an appendix, or in the alternative, stipulate to the use
of the appendix filed by the appellant. A reply, if any, must be filed by the appellant
within 14 days of being served with the appellee’s brief. The parties should not submit
mere restatements of their application papers.
The Criminal Defense Attorneys of Michigan and the Prosecuting Attorneys
Association of Michigan are invited to file briefs amicus curiae. Other persons or groups
interested in the determination of the issues presented in this case may move the Court
for permission to file briefs amicus curiae.
I, Larry S. Royster, Clerk of the Michigan Supreme Court, certify that the
foregoing is a true and complete copy of the order entered at the direction of the Court.
March 29, 2019
s0326
Clerk