U.S. v. Maldonado, 03-1739.

• Decision Date: 20 January 2004
• Docket Number: No. 03-1739.,03-1739.
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Lawrence E. MALDONADO, Defendant, Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — First Circuit

356 F.3d 130

UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Lawrence E. MALDONADO, Defendant, Appellant.

No. 03-1739.

United States Court of Appeals, First Circuit.

Submitted December 2, 2003.

Decided January 20, 2004.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Maine, D. Brock Hornby, J Nicholas J.K. Mahoney, on brief for appellant.

Paula D. Silsby, United States Attorney, and Margaret D. McGaughey, Appellate Chief, on brief for appellee.

Before SELYA, Circuit Judge, CYR, Senior Circuit Judge, and LYNCH, Circuit Judge.

SELYA, Circuit Judge.

This appeal requires us to decide whether interstate commercial trucking is a pervasively regulated industry, and if so, whether the regulatory scheme applicable to that industry comes within the purview of the administrative search exception to the Fourth Amendment's warrant requirement. These are questions of first impression in this circuit. We answer both of them affirmatively — and those answers lead us to affirm the judgment below.

I. BACKGROUND

Although the parties draw different inferences from them, the relevant facts are largely undisputed. During the afternoon of August 8, 2002, a Maine state trooper, Robert Flint, Jr., was patrolling the Maine Turnpike. While in Wells, he noticed a northbound moving van that bore the legend "Allied Van Lines." The truck appeared to be exceeding the posted speed limit (50 m.p.h.) and Flint's radar, freshly calibrated, recorded its speed at 66 m.p.h. A second reading showed a slightly reduced speed (63 m.p.h.), consistent with the driver having spotted the trooper.

Flint chased the moving van and pulled it over for speeding. As he walked up to the cab, he noticed that the driver, defendant-appellant Lawrence E. Maldonado, was not wearing a seat belt. Flint asked Maldonado for his driver's license, his medical certificate (a document that is obligatory for all interstate truckers), and the truck's registration. Maldonado produced a New Mexico license, a medical certificate, and a Texas registration. Although the license and medical certificate both noted a need for corrective eyeware, Maldonado was driving without either spectacles or contact lenses. Upon inquiry, he informed Flint that he had left his broken glasses in a motel room in Connecticut.

Maldonado mentioned that he was transporting a shipment of household goods from Alabama to Maine. Because Flint knew that federal regulations required truckers to keep log books for trips of that length, he asked to see Maldonado's log book. The last entry had been made at 11 a.m. on August 7 (more than 24 hours earlier). Flint instructed Maldonado to update the log book. He then returned to his cruiser to check on Maldonado's license. Word came back that the license had been suspended.

Flint was concerned because Maldonado had breached several federal trucking regulations (e.g., he had failed to keep his log book current, 49 C.F.R. § 395.8; failed to wear a seat belt, id. § 392.16; and operated the truck without a valid license, id. § 391.15). For that reason, Flint summoned a fellow trooper, Robert Nichols. Nichols is one of a handful of members of the Maine State Police who specialize in enforcing commercial trucking regulations. Those troopers serve in dual capacities as agents of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and members of the state police. As such, they are "authorized to enter upon, to inspect, and to examine any and all ... equipment of motor carriers...." 49 C.F.R. Ch. III, Subch. B, App. B(1). Only FMCSA agents (including dual-capacity agents) carry the forms that appertain to commercial trucking violations.

Flint also summoned a tow truck because he realized that Maldonado would not be allowed to drive with a suspended license. That was the end of Flint's initiatives; Nichols arrived at the scene about an hour after the initial stop and Flint immediately surrendered control of the investigation (he had not arrested Maldonado, nor did he plan to do so). The tow truck had not yet responded.

Flint briefed Nichols about the situation and the officers walked to the cab of the moving van. Nichols asked Maldonado for the truck's operating authority (a document that cedes the right to operate a commercial vehicle in Maine). Maldonado did not have any such paperwork. Nichols then requested Maldonado's fuel and toll receipts. Maldonado had no receipts for fuel and only three toll receipts (from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine, respectively). Nichols viewed this as suspicious because, in his experience, commercial truckers undertaking long cross-country hauls typically have "a pile" of such receipts and he expected to see, at a bare minimum, additional toll receipts from New Jersey and New York.

Nichols next requested Maldonado's shipping papers (he testified that most moving vans carrying household goods take along what amounts to an inventory of the cargo). Maldonado had no papers; he claimed to have left them in his motel room. On further inquiry, however, he could not name the motel, pinpoint its location, or produce a room key.

Having grown increasingly suspicious, Nichols asked Maldonado to step out of the vehicle. He searched the cab area, knowing that the truck was destined to be towed. He was surprised to find neither luggage nor extra clothing (he did, however, find a machete).

As Flint was preparing to leave, Nichols asked him if he thought that the expiration date on the moving van's registration had been altered. The troopers agreed that it looked suspicious. At that point, Nichols called in a canine drug search unit. While this unit was en route, Flint departed. Nichols proceeded to run the license plate. This check revealed that the truck's registration had in fact expired.

Nichols then asked Maldonado to unlock the trailer. Maldonado opened the doors of the unlocked storage compartments but did not have keys to unlock the sealed units. He asked Nichols for bolt cutters but Nichols had none. By that time, the tow truck had arrived, and the driver proffered his bolt cutters. Maldonado cut the padlocks.

When the doors to the van were opened, Nichols noticed an upside-down couch and a pile of boxes. He testified that, by this time, he suspected that drugs were being transported and that the goods in plain view comprised a "cover load." Nichols entered the van. As he tried to maneuver toward the front, he had to move a number of boxes in order to clear a path. Although the boxes were marked with room destinations and the name "Baily," they were empty.

Upon reaching the front of the trailer, Nichols kicked another box, thinking that it too would be empty. The box did not budge. Nichols opened it and saw what appeared to be marijuana. By then, the canine unit had arrived and the drug dog responded positively to the opened box.

The denouement followed: Nichols stepped out of the trailer, arrested Maldonado, and placed him in handcuffs. The van was towed to a holding facility and Maldonado was taken to jail. A subsequent search of the truck, conducted pursuant to a warrant, revealed no additional contraband.

A federal grand jury sitting in the District of Maine charged Maldonado with possession with intent to distribute 50 or more kilograms of marijuana. See 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(C). Maldonado's motion to suppress was denied after an evidentiary hearing. See United States v. Maldonado, No. 02-85, 2002 WL 31444563 (D.Me. Nov.1, 2002).¹ In due course, Maldonado entered a conditional guilty plea, see Fed.R.Crim.P. 11(a)(2), reserving his right to seek review of the denial of his motion to suppress.

This appeal followed. Its scope is relatively narrow. In the lower court, Maldonado moved to suppress both the evidence seized and the statements he had made. In this venue, however, he focuses solely on the alleged illegality of the search. His earlier claims of Miranda violations, see Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 444-45, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), are therefore waived. See United States v. Zannino, 895 F.2d 1, 17 (1st Cir.1990).

II. ANALYSIS

When reviewing a trial court's disposition of a motion to suppress on Fourth Amendment grounds, we accept the court's findings of fact unless clearly erroneous and evaluate its legal conclusions de novo. United States v. Chhien, 266 F.3d 1, 5 (1st Cir.2001); United States v. Sowers, 136 F.3d 24, 26 (1st Cir.1998).

Maldonado wisely chooses not to question the legitimacy of the initial stop. He was driving in excess of the speed limit and this active violation of the law afforded an ample basis for Flint to halt the moving van. See Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648, 659, 99 S.Ct. 1391, 59 L.Ed.2d 660 (1979). Nor do Flint's ensuing actions provide any grist for Maldonado's appellate mill. When a police officer stops a motorist for a traffic violation, the officer may ask the motorist to produce routine driving documents. See, e.g., id.; United States v. Caro, 248 F.3d 1240, 1244 (10th Cir.2001). The question of which documents are routine (and, thus, can reasonably be requested) is context-specific. See United States v. Hornbecker, 316 F.3d 40, 47-48 (1st Cir.2003); Chhien, 266 F.3d at 6. A driver's license and registration are plainly routine documents that the police may review in the course of any highway stop. Caro, 248 F.3d at 1244. In the case of a commercial trucker, a medical certificate and a log book fall into the same category — they are documents that the trucker is legally required to possess. See, e.g., 49 C.F.R. §§ 391.43, 395.8; Me. State Police, Motor Carrier Safety Rules ch. 4, § 2. Therefore, it was not unreasonable for Flint to request that Maldonado produce these documents.

In all events, Maldonado pays little attention to Flint's actions. Instead, he trains his sights on Nichols's warrantless search of the moving van and characterizes that search as a violation of the Fourth Amendment. This characterization misfires: Nichols's...