City & Borough of Juneau v. Quinto

In City & Borough of Juneau v. Quinto, 684 P.2d 127, 128-29 (Alaska 1984), the Alaska Supreme Court - distinguishing its earlier decision in Glass - upheld the warrantless recording of a suspect's conversation with a police officer on a public highway during the course of the defendant's apprehension and arrest for drunk driving. The court rejected the argument that the defendant enjoyed a reasonable expectation of privacy in such circumstances, where one "is aware, or reasonably should be aware, that he or she is speaking to a police officer who is in the process of executing either a lawful arrest or a lawful investigative stop." Id. at 129. The decision in Quinto is consistent with our holding in Brooks and many others holding that defendants do not enjoy a reasonable expectation of privacy when speaking with police officers in such public settings. It does not, however, justify a warrantless recording in the privacy of the home.