Max Boot in the Wall Street Journal, February 2, 1997:

At 2 a.m. on Nov. 20, 1990, two New York state troopers were patrolling a desolate stretch of road about 30 miles north of New York City when they observed a U-Haul van whizzing along at 70 miles an hour. They were suspicious not only because of the early hour and the high speed, but also because deer hunting season had just started. Hunters often come up from New York City, and sometimes carry illegal firearms.

So after pulling over the van, one of the troopers asked driver Leonardo Turriago, "Do you mind if we see what's in the back of the truck?" He replied, "Sure, I'll show you." When the trooper got into the trailer, he found several boxes and asked Turriago to open them. "Sure," he replied again. Turriago seemed to have trouble opening one of the boxes, but as soon as it clicked open he took off running. When the trooper lifted the lid, out popped a pair of human legs.

After Turriago and two companions were apprehended, investigators discovered that Turriago had killed the victim over what he called "a drug thing," first shooting him in the face, then repeatedly striking his head with a hammer. Turriago and the others were transporting the corpse from New York City for disposal in the countryside.

A slam-dunk case for the prosecution, right? Wrong. A 4-1 majority of the state appellate court ... decided that the evidence and the defendant's confession weren't admissible. Ah, but didn't Turriago give permission for the cops to search his van? In the judges' view, it didn't matter: "When a motorist, stopped for some minor traffic infraction on a lonely stretch of road in the dead of night, is approached by two imposing State Troopers—the very personification of state authority on the highway—one of whom leans over the car and asks, 'Mind if we look in the trunk?', can the forthcoming affirmative response truly be regarded as the product of free will?"

...Turriago isn't placing his faith in the appellate process, though. He's just been charged with hiring a hit man to eliminate potential witnesses against him.

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