Cardwell v. State, BE-296
| Decision Date | 23 January 1986 |
| Docket Number | No. BE-296,BE-296 |
| Citation | 11 Fla. L. Weekly 266,482 So.2d 512 |
| Parties | 11 Fla. L. Weekly 266 Robert George CARDWELL, Jr., Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Frank E. Sheffield, Tallahassee, for appellant.
Jim Smith, Atty. Gen. and John W. Tiedemann, Asst. Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, for appellee.
Robert George Cardwell, Jr. entered a plea of nolo contendere to trafficking in marijuana, reserving the right to appeal the trial court's denial of his motion to suppress. He contends that the evidence seized as the result of a warrantless police roadblock set up to apprehend drug traffickers by stopping cars without any articulable suspicion of illegal activity should be suppressed because the roadblock constituted an illegal search and seizure, in violation of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The facts of this case demonstrate that the seizure and subsequent search were reasonable and therefore not in violation of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. We affirm the trial court's denial of the motion to suppress.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), was concerned with an expanding problem of transportation of illegal drugs over Florida highways, as evidenced by data collected and analyzed from throughout the state. FDLE approached the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) with the idea of establishing roadblocks in order to use dogs highly trained and reliable in narcotics detection (sniff dogs) to locate motor vehicles transporting illegal drugs. FDLE contemplated that the effort would require the expertise of both agencies as well as other state and local officials, in order to be safely and effectively conducted. Supervisory personnel of FDLE and FHP, legal staffs of both agencies, the local state attorney, the Department of Transportation, and other representatives of law enforcement participated in the development of the plan for the roadblock.
The roadblock was set up to block traffic in the north bound lanes of U.S. Highway 27 just south of the Florida-Georgia border, using orange cones to make those lanes flow into a single lane. At the south end of the roadblock there were positioned flashing lights provided by the Department of Transportation and an FHP trooper who observed approaching vehicles. When a car arrived at the check point, the vehicle was stopped by the FHP trooper, who requested the driver to produce his license and vehicle registration. At this point another FHP trooper, a dog handler with a sniff dog, and an FDLE agent walked around the vehicle, allowing the dog to sniff it. If nothing was detected during the sniff, the vehicle was allowed to depart. If the dog alerted, the car was pulled over to the side of the highway and the driver was further questioned by the FDLE agent. The driver was given an opportunity to execute a consent form allowing the investigators to look into the vehicle. The plan initially called for every vehicle to be stopped, but when the FHP troopers felt that traffic back-up was creating a hazard, the operation was suspended and all cars were waved through until the traffic cleared. The operation was then recommenced and continued with the checking of every car until another traffic hazard situation developed.
The facts of appellant's case are uncontroverted, except for the length of delay at the roadblock and the discussion between appellant and state officers concerning consent to search his motor vehicle, both of which issues were resolved in favor of the state based on substantial competent evidence in the record. Appellant approached the check point at approximately 4:45 p.m. on January 12, 1984. He was asked for his driver's license and his registration. He showed a driver's license to the officer and stated that he did not have a registration for the vehicle. He was advised that there would be a dog walking around the car and that he should not hang his arm or hand out of the window. The dog first alerted to the passenger's door, then to the trunk area. Another dog was called in and also alerted when it sniffed the automobile. Appellant was told to pull over to the shoulder of the road. After a discussion with the officials, the substance of which is in dispute, appellant gave his consent to an FDLE agent to search his car. The trunk of the car was pried open, revealing four bales of marijuana. Appellant was arrested and transported to the Gadsden County Jail, where he made incriminating statements indicating that he had been acting as a drug courier for parties in Alabama and Florida.
The authorities stopped 278 of the 554 vehicles passing...
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