Descoteaux v. Bonaventura, 74-206-A
| Decision Date | 20 January 1976 |
| Docket Number | No. 74-206-A,74-206-A |
| Citation | 115 R.I. 555,350 A.2d 396 |
| Parties | Wendell F. DESCOTEAUX v. Joseph BONAVENTURA. ppeal. |
| Court | Rhode Island Supreme Court |
This case is heard on appeal from a judgment entered by a Superior Court justice sitting without a jury finding for the defendant in an action for false arrest.
On September 28, 1964, two North Providence police officers conducted a stakeout in an unmarked car on Stevens Street in response to recent complaints by the residents of 'peeping Toms.' At approximately 11:15 p.m. the officers saw a man peering into a window of a nearby house. At that moment a light went on in the room, and the suspect fled. The officers radioed a description of the man and the course of his flight. Shortly thereafter defendant spotted plaintiff, who fit the general description of the suspect, a few blocks from the stakeout, running in the direction indicated in the radio report. The defendant, then Deputy Police Chief of North Providence, asked plaintiff to produce identification and explain where he was going. The plaintiff produced a business card and said he was on his way to meet his girlfriend. Thereupon, defendant instructed plaintiff to come with him to the police station. At the police station, defendant conducted a 'show up,' asking some of the persons complaining of 'peeping Toms' if they recognized plaintiff as the intruder. None identified plaintiff, and he was released. Later, plaintiff brought this action for false arrest upon the incidents described above.
The case was not brought to trial until 1974. The trial justice found that the detention was justified under G.L.1956 (1969 Reenactment) § 12-7-1:
The trial justice found on the basis of the facts described above that defendant had 'reason to suspect' that plaintiff had committed a crime, that the officer's actions amounted to a 'detention' rather than a full arrest, and that plaintiff was released within 2 hours.
The plaintiff's sole argument on appeal is that § 12-7-1 is unconstitutional and thus cannot be used to justify the police officer's actions. We do not reach this question, for we believe the outcome of this case is controlled by our decision in Yekhtikian v. Blessing, 90 R.I. 287, 157 A.2d 669 (1960). In that case the plaintiff, Yekhtikian, had previously been arrested for selling obscene literature. The indictment against him was dismissed upon the ground that the statute establishing the crime was unconstitutional. Thereupon, Yekhtikian...
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State v. Locke
...so that he could intelligently decide whether to remove defendant from the highway because of his condition. See Descoteaux v. Bonaventura, 115 R.I. 555, 350 A.2d 396 (1976); Cioci v. Santos, 99 R.I. at 315, 207 A.2d at 304; Yekhtikian v. Blessing, 90 R.I. 287, 157 A.2d 669 (1960). 1 The tr......
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Johnson v. Palange, 77-297-A
...enforce an act of the legislature that has not as yet been judicially approved." Id. at 291, 157 A.2d at 671. In Descoteaux v. Bonaventura, 115 R.I. 555, 350 A.2d 396 (1976), we applied the same principle where the detention complained of was justified by the defendant as having been made i......
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Guffey v. State
...act in good faith in their understanding of the law at the time of the arrest. The Rhode Island Supreme Court in Descoteaux v. Bonaventura, 115 R.I. 555, 350 A.2d 396 (1976) held that an officer would not be held liable for false arrest for an arrest made pursuant to an assertedly unconstit......
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Johnson v. Palange
...before us on March 9, 1979, to show cause why their appeals should not be dismissed in light of our decisions in Descoteaux v. Bonaventura, 115 R.I. 555, 350 A.2d 396 (1976) and Yekhtikian v. Blessing, 90 R.I. 287, 157 A.2d 669 The plaintiffs appeared and sufficient cause having been shown ......