In People v. White, No. 150661, the Michigan Supreme Court scheduled oral argument on whether to grant an application for leave to appeal on whether an arresting officer was lawfully in the defendant’s house when the defendant obstructed the officer’s attempts to arrest her son, who did not reside in the house.
The defendant, Stephanie White, was convicted of resisting or obstructing a police officer under MCL 750.81d(1). Officer Brent Green arrived at the residence to arrest the defendant’s son, Stephan White, because one of the five arrest warrants for him listed the defendant’s house as his residence. Officer Green had encountered Stephan White at the residence in the past, and saw him through the screen door before entering the house. The defendant was arrested after attempting to obstruct Officer Green in his search of the residence.
On appeal, Defendant argued that Officer Green’s entrance into her residence was unlawful because Stephen White did not reside there and an officer cannot enter a third party residence without a search warrant. The jury found that the entrance was lawful because Officer Green could have reasonably believed that Stephan White resided there and was there at the time, and the Court of Appeals affirmed.
