U.S. v. Pforzheimer
| Citation | 826 F.2d 200 |
| Decision Date | 18 August 1987 |
| Docket Number | D,No. 793,793 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. John PFORZHEIMER, Defendant-Appellant. ocket 86-1282. |
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (2nd Circuit) |
Duncan Frey Kilmartin, Newport, Vt. (Rexford & Kilmartin, Newport, Vt., of counsel), for defendant-appellant.
Patti R. Page, Asst. U.S. Atty., Burlington, Vt. (George J. Terwilliger, III, U.S. Atty. for the D.Vt., Donald P. Moroz, Asst U.S. Atty., Burlington, Vt., of counsel), for appellee.
Before LUMBARD, PIERCE, and ALTIMARI, Circuit Judges.
This is an appeal from a judgment of conviction entered in the District of Vermont, Coffrin, Chief Judge, convicting appellant John Pforzheimer after a jury trial of violating 21 U.S.C. Sec. 841(a)(1), (b)(1) & (c) [sic], by manufacturing marijuana in an amount not exceeding 50 kilograms. On appeal, appellant contends, inter alia, that the district court erred in failing to apply state, or a combination of state and federal, constitutional law to the suppression issues in the case, and because the district court used interrogatories in connection with the jury's verdict which included a question stated in the disjunctive regarding whether appellant was guilty or not guilty. For the reasons stated below, we affirm.
The defendant, John Pforzheimer, and his twin brother, Robert Pforzheimer, were indicted by a federal grand jury in 1985 of narcotics offenses in violation of 21 U.S.C. Secs. 841 and 846: manufacturing in excess of 50 kilograms of marijuana, attempting to manufacture and possess with intent to distribute marijuana in excess of 50 kilograms, and conspiracy to manufacture marijuana in excess of 50 kilograms. The indictment arose out of a Vermont state police investigation of the cultivation of marijuana on property owned by the two Pforzheimers, which spans approximately one thousand acres of land in Newport Center, Vermont.
The Vermont authorities began their investigation of the Pforzheimers in 1982. At that time, John Pforzheimer was arrested on charges stemming from the manufacture of marijuana. The state trooper who made the arrest, one Roland Prairie, also became aware of a business known as the Stone Pfactory operated by the Pforzheimer brothers, in which they sold drug paraphernalia prior to the adoption of the anti-paraphernalia law in Vermont. All state charges were later dropped against John after the evidence seized as a result of the 1982 investigation was suppressed.
In investigating the instant case, Trooper Prairie, along with a state police officer and a state game warden, although they had no warrant, crept onto the southern portion of the property owned by the two brothers. While there, these state authorities observed 40-50 marijuana plants growing in the "open fields." The police officer and trooper also met with an informant who stated that the Pforzheimers had been growing marijuana on their property for years. Further, the trooper had flown over the Pforzheimer property and viewed large plots of dark green vegetation that did not appear to him to be normal.
Based on the search of the property and the informant's information, Trooper Prairie prepared the necessary papers for a search warrant for each of the Pforzheimers' residences. The warrant was issued by a Vermont state court. On July 24, 1985, state officers executed the warrant with respect to John Pforzheimer's residence and discovered approximately 4400 marijuana plants on the jointly-owned property. Upon learning that Robert Pforzheimer rented out his usual residence and resided elsewhere, the state officers sought and obtained a warrant to search the place where Robert Pforzheimer actually resided. State officers executed the second warrant on July 25, 1985, and uncovered marijuana, weapons, incriminating photographs and material used for drying marijuana.
John Pforzheimer was arrested on July 24, 1985, and Robert Pforzheimer, on July 25, 1985. Each was charged with two felony violations of Vermont's marijuana laws in the Vermont District Court. On August 2, 1985, federal complaints were issued against the two Pforzheimer brothers and on August 6, 1985, the state charges against John Pforzheimer were dropped because "federal charges are being brought against John Pforzheimer." Both brothers filed pretrial motions before Judge Coffrin, who denied all the motions. After a trial by jury, Robert Pforzheimer was acquitted of all charges; John Pforzheimer was convicted of knowingly and intentionally manufacturing some amount of marijuana in an amount less than 50 kilograms. John Pforzheimer was sentenced to four years in prison to be followed by a three year special parole term and a fine of $50 was assessed against him.
Appellant argues on appeal that evidence obtained as a result of the open fields search of the Pforzheimer property should have been suppressed. Appellant contends that the district court erroneously applied federal constitutional law at the suppression hearing, noting that the district court applied the open fields doctrine of Oliver v. United States, 466 U.S. 170, 104 S.Ct. 1735, 80 L.Ed.2d 214 (1984), in admitting evidence obtained from the open fields search of the Pforzheimer property. If Vermont constitutional law had been applied, appellant contends, the evidence would have been suppressed. Appellant further argues that the district court erred by providing a verdict form with interrogatories to the jury. The government argues that the district court properly applied federal law at the suppression hearing and that the district court's use of the jury verdict form was not error. We consider each of these issues in turn.
We are presented here with the novel issue of whether the state or federal exclusionary rule should be applied in ruling on a motion to suppress evidence in a criminal trial in federal court when the evidence in question was solely the product of a state investigation. Appellant urges that we should apply state constitutional standards because the open fields search, the issuance and execution of the warrant, and the seizure of evidence were all conducted by Vermont authorities, without federal participation. Specifically, appellant argues that we should apply the exclusionary rule under the Vermont Constitution with respect to the search of an open field. The government contends that federal law should be applied to the prosecution of cases in federal court, and, therefore, that the open fields doctrine of Oliver v. United States, was properly applied in this case.
In asserting that state rather than federal law is applicable, appellant makes two arguments. First, he urges that the state, rather than the federal, exclusionary rule should apply to his case because the federal prosecution relied upon an investigation conducted entirely by state officers. Second, he argues that, in the interests of comity and fairness, we should adopt a federal exclusionary rule that would exclude evidence seized by state officers in violation of a state constitution which provides broader protections than the federal Constitution.
Specifically, appellant claims that interpretation of the Vermont Constitution would not permit that State to adopt the open fields doctrine under the federal Constitution as set forth in Oliver v. United States. Appellant acknowledges that the federal Constitution does not prohibit the search of open fields but he claims that the evidence seized as a result of the open fields investigation of the Pforzheimer property would have been suppressed under Vermont law. Appellant bases this claim upon the difference between the search and seizure clauses in the United States and Vermont Constitutions. The fourth amendment of the United States Constitution protects against unreasonable searches and seizures of persons, houses, papers, and effects while the Vermont Constitution refers to persons, houses, papers, and possessions. Appellant posits that the word "possessions" is more inclusive than the word "effects," and therefore, that the Vermont Constitution would preclude an open fields warrantless search as an unreasonable search. This question apparently has not been considered by Vermont's appellate courts since no case has been cited by appellant, and our research has uncovered none, in which the Vermont courts have held that the open fields doctrine as enunciated in Oliver would be inconsistent with the Vermont Constitution. But cf. State v. Neale, 145 Vt. 423, 491 A.2d 1025, 1028-29 (1985) ().
Notwithstanding the fact that the Vermont courts have not decided whether the open fields doctrine as per Oliver applies in Vermont, appellant argues that a strict state exclusionary rule should have been applied in the federal district court because the search and seizure of the evidence here was conducted solely by state officers. If we adopt appellant's reasoning, we must first determine whether an open fields search was a reasonable search under the Vermont Constitution, and then applying state law, or a combination of state and federal law, we must determine whether evidence seized as a result of the open fields search should be suppressed. For the reasons stated below, we decline to adopt appellant's arguments and we hold that federal constitutional law must be applied to the suppression issues in this case.
In United States v. Turner, 558 F.2d 46, 49 (2d Cir.1977), we held that it is appropriate to apply federal law in a federal case, even where the evidence was seized in violation of state law. However, in Turner, a United States Customs agent was involved in procuring the evidence that would have been suppressed under state law. See also United States v. Magda, 547 F.2d 756, 757 n. 2 (2d Cir.1976), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 878,...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
State v. Kono
...federal law.8 Because our state constitution does not bind federal authorities or federal courts; see, e.g., United States v. Pforzheimer , 826 F.2d 200, 204 (2d Cir. 1987) ; we are powerless to prevent state authorities who have obtained evidence in violation of the state constitution from......
-
U.S. v. Pierce
...that "federal law is applicable in a federal prosecution even when there has been state involvement in the case." United States v. Pforzheimer, 826 F.2d 200, 203 (2d Cir.1987); see also Elkins v. United States, 364 U.S. 206, 224, 80 S.Ct. 1437, 4 L.Ed.2d 1669 (1960); United States v. Rowell......
-
U.S. v. Moore
...with the Fourth Amendment will not be suppressed in a federal prosecution because state law was violated. See United States v. Pforzheimer, 826 F.2d 200, 204 (2d Cir.1987); United States v. Eng, 753 F.2d 683, 686 (8th Cir.1985); United States v. Montgomery, 708 F.2d 343, 344 (8th Cir.1983).......
-
U.S. v. Casamento
...them by the trial judge. Richardson v. Marsh, 481 U.S. 200, 211, 107 S.Ct. 1702, 1709, 95 L.Ed.2d 176 (1987); United States v. Pforzheimer, 826 F.2d 200, 205 (2d Cir.1987). This presumption is "rooted less in the absolute certitude that [it] is true than in the belief that it represents a r......
-
Dirty Silver Platters: The Enduring Challenge of Intergovernmental Investigative Illegality
...in maintaining the protections afforded by federalism’s “constitutional balance”). 192 . See, e.g. , United States v. Pforzheimer, 826 F.2d 200, 204 (2d Cir. 1987) (“The initiation of a federal prosecution depends entirely on the discretion of the federal prosecutor.”). 193. Such advantages......
-
The "silver platter" in the context of state constitutional adjudication.
...(17) Id. at 1231. (18) Id. at 1235. (19) Id. (20) Id. at 1237-38 (Koelsch, J., dissenting). (21) See, e.g., United States v. Pforzheimer, 826 F.2d 200, 204 (2d Cir. 1987) (explaining that federal prosecutors should be presumed to be operating in good faith); United States v. Clyburn, 24 F.3......