G & G Jewelry, Inc. v. City of Oakland
| Decision Date | 31 March 1993 |
| Docket Number | No. 90-15771,90-15771 |
| Parties | G & G JEWELRY, INC., dba United Jewelry Mart; Robert P. Goldstone, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. CITY OF OAKLAND, Henry L. Gardner, City Manager; George T. Hart, Chief of Police; Thomas O. Donahue, Deputy Chief of Police; Jay Crawford, Sergeant; Craig D. Stewart, Sergeant; Jonathan Madarang, Officer; Jane W. Williams, City Attorney; Wendy P. Rouder, Assistant City Attorney, Defendants-Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit |
Henry O. Noffsinger, Pleasant Hill, CA, for plaintiffs-appellants.
Diane J. Simon, Asst. to the City Atty., City of Oakland, Catherine M. Steane, Oakland, CA, for defendants-appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.
Before: HUG, SCHROEDER and WIGGINS, Circuit Judges.
This case concerns the warrantless seizure from a pawnshop of property that had been reported stolen. The owner of the pawnshop contends that the police did not faithfully follow the provisions of a California statute designed to deal with this situation. Further, he contends that this warrantless seizure violated the Fourth and Fifth Amendments as incorporated into the Fourteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution. The district court granted summary judgment for the defendants. We reverse.
On July 6, 1988, Michael Watson filed a report with the Oakland Police Department stating that he had been robbed of his camera and lens. Watson provided the police with descriptions and serial numbers of the stolen items.
On September 13, 1988, Frederick Brasley pawned a camera and lens at appellant Robert Goldstone's pawnshop, United Jewelry Mart. Brasley signed the standard form certifying that he was the owner of the property or otherwise had authority to sell it. In accordance with California statutory reporting requirements, Goldstone submitted a report of the transaction to the Oakland Police Department identifying the camera and lens by brand name, model number and serial number.
After it received Goldstone's report of the transaction with Brasley, the Oakland Police Department placed a 90-day hold on the camera and lens pursuant to Cal.Bus. & Prof.Code § 21647 (West 1987). The police department's decision to invoke section 21647 required Goldstone to retain and not release or dispose of the property until December 27, 1988. The ensuing police investigation revealed that the property did, in fact, have the same serial numbers as the property Watson had reported stolen. Although the property appeared to have been stolen, the police concluded that Brasley had not stolen it.
Six days before the 90-day hold was due to expire, Officer Madarang of the Oakland Police Department presented to Goldstone a document that authorized release of the property to "Officer Madarang 7157C for M. Watson." The police department also Goldstone filed suit against the City of Oakland, the police officers involved and others (collectively "the City") under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 seeking damages and injunctive relief. He argued that the Oakland Police Department policy of seizing stolen goods for the purpose of returning them to the person reporting them stolen is inconsistent with Cal.Bus. & Prof.Code § 21647 and violative of the Fourth, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. The district court granted the City's motion for summary judgment. Contrary to the purpose indicated in the documents provided to Goldstone by the police, the court concluded as a matter of law that the purpose of the seizure was to further investigate the robbery. The court further concluded that the seizure was justified under the plain view doctrine and that, because the seizure was reasonable, Goldstone's rights under the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments had not been violated. Goldstone timely appeals.
furnished a document entitled "Notice of Claim of Ownership," which indicated that unless Goldstone gave the police reason to believe that Watson was not the owner, the property would be turned over to Watson. Goldstone protested the seizure, but the officer took the camera and lens with him to the police station.
Obviously, this is a test case concerning the Oakland Police Department's dealings with the pawnshops. Similar situations were cited by the appellants. The gravamen of the complaint is that the police are misusing a California statutory procedure to seize from pawnshops property that the police have determined to be stolen and then returning the property to the persons that the police believe are the rightful owners. This practice is not authorized by the statute. The manner in which the property in this case was seized by Officer Madarang and the standard notice forms utilized, which partially conformed to the statute and partially violated the statute, lend credence to Goldstone's complaint. The City counters that, quite apart from the statute, the police were authorized to make a warrantless seizure of the pawned property for investigative purposes because probable cause existed and the property was in plain view.
The district court based its summary judgment on the ground that this was strictly an investigatory seizure and that a warrantless seizure was justified on the basis of the plain view exception. We address first the application of the specific California statutory procedure dealing with pawnshops and then discuss whether a warrantless plain view seizure is constitutionally permissible in this circumstance. Finally, we discuss whether the specific statutory procedure is the exclusive method of seizing property in this situation.
Significantly, Goldstone's challenge to the conduct of the officers in this case is brought against the backdrop of a state regulatory scheme that deals specifically with property received by a pawnbroker in the course of business. The State of California has adopted procedures to be followed when the police have probable cause to believe property in the possession of a pawnbroker has been stolen. See Cal.Bus. & Prof.Code § 21647 (West 1987 & Supp.1993). 1
The statute requires the pawnbroker to file a report with a police executive whenever property is pledged for sale. Id. at § 21628. Information in the report must include, inter alia, a description of the pledged property (including serial numbers, if available), the identity of the intended pledgor, and certification from the intended pledgor that he or she is the owner of the The statute also imposes certain obligations on the pawnbroker in the event a peace officer has probable cause to believe that property in the possession of the pawnbroker is stolen. Specifically, an officer with probable cause to believe an item has been stolen may place a "90-day hold" on such property during which time the pawnbroker is not permitted to release or dispose of the property unless authorized by a court order or a written authorization signed by a peace officer. Id. at § 21647(a). The statute has been amended to provide specifically for additional hold periods. See id. at § 21647(d) (West Supp.1993). However, the parties agreed at oral argument that additional holds were frequently used even before the seizure in this case. During the hold period, the pawnbroker, upon reasonable notice, must make the property available to a peace officer, provided the officer is a member of the law enforcement agency of which the peace officer placing the hold on the property is a member. Id. at § 21647(b).
property or otherwise has authority to sell it. Id. at § 21628(a)-(g).
If the property is no longer required for investigatory purposes and the law enforcement agency has no knowledge of the property on hold having been reported as stolen, the agency is required to release the hold on the property. Id. at § 21647(c)(1). If the property has been reported stolen, the law enforcement agency is required to notify the person who reported the stolen property of the name and address of the pawnbroker holding the property and to authorize the pawnbroker to release it to the person who reported it stolen. Id. at § 21647(c)(2). 2 The law enforcement agency also must notify the person who reported the property stolen "that the law neither requires nor prohibits payment of a fee or any other condition in return for the surrender of the property." Id. In addition, the statute provides that "if the alleged owner chooses not to file a criminal complaint against an identified alleged thief, the alleged owner shall pay the pawnbroker ... the 'out-of-pocket' expenses paid in the acquisition of the allegedly stolen property in return for the surrender of the property." Id. (West Supp.1993). 3
Section 21647(c)(3) provides for certain rights for the pledgor when the property is subject to a police hold. If the pledgor seeks to redeem the property subject to a hold, the pawnbroker must advise him of the name and badge number of the officer who placed the hold and the name of the law enforcement agency of which the officer is a member. Id. at § 21647(c)(3). If the property is no longer required to be held for purposes of a criminal prosecution, the hold is required to be released. Id.
It is apparent that there are three persons with potential property interests to be resolved, namely the pledgor, the pawnbroker, and the person claiming the property was stolen. The pledgor has pledged property that is worth more than the loan he obtained. The pawnbroker has loaned money on the security of the property pledged. The person reporting the property stolen has a claim that the pledged property belongs to him. The statutory procedures do not purport to resolve ownership of the property; they only dictate which party is entitled to possess the property until ownership is resolved by negotiation, agreement, or by some sort of civil litigation.
In this case, a 90-day hold was placed on the camera and lens in...
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