Litigation
Feb. 2, 2000
Pacific Defender
DICTA Little did I know that four months into my two-year contract on Kosrae, a tiny island in the central Pacific Ocean, I was in for a challenge.
Because islands like Kosrae were once administered by the United States, their courts have copied our system. The Micronesian Constitution has a warrant clause similar to our Fourth Amendment. Their Rules of Criminal Procedure and Evidence mimic the U.S. federal counterparts. Island courts have adopted other U.S. jurisprudence as well, like the exclusionary rule. We hoped to suppress the marijuana - which was seized without a warrant - that Paulino was accused of growing behind the family's house .
Sometimes, when you try to give a witness a little help he ends up taking the shirt right off your back.
Our main witness at the suppression hearing was Charles Paulino, my client's father. Charles, a day laborer, had come to my office 20 minutes before the hearing looking like he was ready to shovel gravel in his torn and dirty, black cotton tee shirt. The front was silk-screened in garish pink lettering: "Don't You Break My Achey, Breaky Heart."
He looked ready to break my heart.
Going into the hearing, I had two concerns. First, I was concerned that I hadn't yet spoken with Charles and I wasn't sure what he might say on the stand. Second, I was worried because the suppression motion would be heard by conservative Judge Lyndon Cornelius, a stickler for compliance with local rules. I had already run afoul of the judge by being late for an arraignment.
General Court Order No. 4 stipulated the proper dress for anyone in the courtroom, whether lawyer, party, witness or spectator. Gentlemen must wear long pants and a shirt with a collar. (I suppose I could have tried a case barefoot, but I never tested that theory.) Judge Cornelius would not stand for Charles' tee shirt.
Luckily, I kept a collared shirt in a desk drawer in case of an emergency motion or bail hearing. Charles looked handsome in the sky-blue, button-down shirt, although it was tight about his belly. He also made an excellent witness, testifying calmly on direct and remaining unflustered in cross-examination.
I was so intent on the next witness - the police lieutenant who had undertaken the warrantless search - I didn't notice that after testifying, Charles had left the courtroom still wearing my shirt. At the end of the all-day evidentiary hearing, Judge Cornelius set a briefing schedule.
A few days after I filed our brief, the younger Paulino stopped by the office.
"My father says, 'Thank you.' "
"Well, let's not get too confident, Alfred. Judge Cornelius hasn't ruled yet."
"No. My father wants to thank you for the handsome shirt."
I was about to protest - it was the only long-sleeved shirt I'd brought to the islands - but then I realized that it was only a shirt, and it was probably the best-looking piece of clothing that Charles had. Property is a very different concept in the islands. I said nothing. At church the next Sunday, Charles sat in the front row wearing my old blue shirt, still snug about the waist. He beamed at me after services.
Everything worked out. The court ruled in Paulino's favor, finding that the marijuana seized was growing within the curtilage. Judge Cornelius reasoned that the police needed a warrant to search so close to a home, where people had a reasonable expectation of privacy. With the physical evidence suppressed, the charge was dismissed.
Paulino apparently learned from his brush with the law, for not only did I never see him in my office again, but in two years I heard not even a rumor that he was in any trouble whatsoever.
I was rewarded as well. A few weeks after the case was dismissed, Alfred showed up at my house with two huge, spiny lobsters.
"My father wants you to have these."
Two lobsters for one old shirt? A fair trade, all in all.
Robert Diemer is an Oakland attorney.
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