August 19, 2016, 11:47
nlostraccoWhat is public?
Defendant acts up while intoxicated in a treatment bay inside the ER. Arrested for PI. While being transported, he threatens officer. Hence the felony. However, was the arrest good? Is a bed, in a treatment bay, in an ER that is locked out to the general public, but does have a substantial number of members of the public inside a public area or not?
August 19, 2016, 12:31
Jon EnglishNope. Don't see that holding up.
See TPC 1.07(40). "Public place" means any place to which the public or a substantial group of the public has access and includes, but is not limited to, streets, highways, and the common areas of schools, hospitals, apartment houses, office buildings, transport facilities, and shops.
August 19, 2016, 12:44
Jon EnglishAlso, isn't a threat on a public servant a Class A misdemeanor and not a felony?
FWIW, I don't think that a terroristic threat of a public servant is "fruit of the poisonous tree" of an illegal arrest. So the terroristic threat charge should stick if you want it to.
August 19, 2016, 15:25
nlostraccoThere are even more problems with the case!!!! Yall just answered the first issue. It should keep me from having to deal with the rest of the issues. Thanks.
August 22, 2016, 16:03
Jason BujnosekJust stumbled across this old thread:
Emergency Room Public Place? There are some useful cases toward the end.