Hayes v. State

• Decision Date: 28 August 2003
• Docket Number: No. 53A01-0208-CR-332.,53A01-0208-CR-332.
• Citation: 794 N.E.2d 492
• Parties: William HAYES, Appellant-Defendant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff.
• Court: Indiana Appellate Court

794 N.E.2d 492

William HAYES, Appellant-Defendant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff.

No. 53A01-0208-CR-332.

Court of Appeals of Indiana.

August 28, 2003.

Robert T. Miller, R.T. Miller & Associates, Bloomington, IN, Attorney for Appellant.

Steve Carter, Attorney General of Indiana, Andrew A. Kobe, Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, IN, Attorneys for Appellee.

OPINION

NAJAM, Judge.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

William Hayes appeals his conviction for Dealing in Cocaine, as a Class A felony, following a jury trial and his adjudication as an Habitual Offender after a guilty plea. He presents the following two issues for our review:

1. Whether he was seized in violation of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution when police conducted a "knock and talk" investigation to gain access to his motel room.

2. Whether his consent to search his motel room was voluntary under the Fourth Amendment.

We affirm.¹

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Hayes was the target of a crack cocaine investigation. In January 2001, an informant told Detective Robert Shrake of the Bloomington Police Department and South Central Indiana Narcotics Task Force that Hayes was dealing drugs out of Room 113 at the Economy Inn in Bloomington. Detective Shrake, accompanied by three other officers, went to the motel room and knocked on the door. All four officers were dressed in civilian clothing, but they were also wearing side-arms and had handcuffs and badges. Hayes answered the door. Detective Shrake showed Hayes his police badge and identification as he introduced himself and his partner, Detective Wendy Kelly. Detective Shrake then stated, "I received a complaint of some drug activity down here. Can we come in and talk to you about it[?]" Hayes replied "Yes" and let the officers inside.²

When Detective Shrake entered the motel room, he observed a second man, later identified as Larry Tanksley, take something from the top of a dresser and walk into a bathroom. Detective Shrake also observed a bag of marijuana sitting on top of the dresser. Detective Shrake immediately asked Tanksley to return to the main room, and he complied. Detective Shrake then asked Hayes, Tanksley, and Luwanda Johnson, who was also in the room, whether they had any weapons. They responded no. Detective Shrake asked Hayes whether he could look around the room for weapons, and Hayes said, "No problem." Detective Shrake "jokingly" asked if there were any drugs in the room, and Hayes and the others said no. Detective Shrake said, "Well, would you want me to get [any drugs in the room] out of here?" to which Hayes replied "Yes." Detective Shrake then told Hayes that he did not have to give him permission to look for weapons and drugs, but Hayes told him that he and the other officers could "look around."

Detective Shrake proceeded to the bathroom and knocked over a trash can to see if there were any weapons inside of it. While he did not find any weapons in the trash can, he saw a crack pipe sitting on the window sill. Then, when he walked out of the bathroom, he saw a bag containing a white rocky substance on top of a microwave. Detective Shrake discussed his observations with Detective Kelly, and he then began to talk to Hayes and Tanksley. Detective Kelly showed Detective Shrake a baggie containing what appeared to be several rocks of crack cocaine that she had found in the trash on the bathroom floor. Detective Shrake told Hayes and Tanksley about the drugs they had found in the room, and he arrested Hayes, Tanksley, and Johnson. During a search incident to arrest, police found over three grams of crack cocaine and $1,800 in Hayes' pants' pocket. Later, at the police station, Detective Shrake conducted a videotaped interview with Hayes.

The State charged Hayes with dealing in cocaine, as a Class A felony. Prior to trial, Hayes filed a motion to suppress the drugs obtained during the search of his motel room and his person. Hayes argued that the evidence was obtained pursuant to an unreasonable search and seizure under the Indiana and United States Constitutions.³ At the suppression hearing, Detective Shrake testified that he did not have enough information "to even speak with a judge to get a search warrant" before he went to Hayes' motel room. Transcript at 27. But Detective Shrake also testified that Hayes voluntarily consented to the officers' entry into the motel room and the subsequent search. Following the hearing, the trial court denied Hayes' motion to suppress and made detailed findings and conclusions.⁴ At trial, over Hayes' objections, the trial court admitted into evidence the drugs and money obtained during the search of Hayes' motel room and his person. A jury found Hayes guilty as charged, and Hayes pleaded guilty to being an habitual offender. The trial court entered judgments of conviction accordingly and sentenced Hayes to eighty years executed. This appeal ensued.

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

Standard of Review

The trial court has broad discretion in ruling on the admissibility of evidence. Small v. State, 632 N.E.2d 779, 782 (Ind. Ct.App.1994), trans. denied. We will disturb its ruling only upon a showing of abuse of that discretion. Id. An abuse of discretion may occur if the trial court's decision is clearly against the logic and effect of the facts and circumstances before the court, or if the court has misinterpreted the law. Baxter v. State, 734 N.E.2d 642, 645 (Ind.Ct.App.2000).

Issue One: Knock and Talk

Hayes first contends that the officers' "knock and talk" investigation led to a seizure that violated the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. This is an issue of first impression for an Indiana appellate court.⁵ As such, we look to other jurisdictions for guidance.

The Fourth Amendment provides:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

"It is axiomatic that the `physical entry of the home<sup>6</sup> is the chief evil against which the wording of the Fourth Amendment is directed.'" State v. Straub, 749 N.E.2d 593, 597 (Ind.Ct.App.2001) (quoting United States v. United States District Court, 407 U.S. 297, 313, 92 S.Ct. 2125, 32 L.Ed.2d 752 (1972)). A principal protection against unnecessary intrusions into private dwellings is the warrant requirement imposed by the Fourth Amendment on agents of the government who seek to enter a residence for purposes of search or arrest. Id. Thus, searches and seizures inside a home without a warrant are presumptively unreasonable. Id. But there are a "`few... and carefully delineated'" exceptions to the warrant requirement. Id. (quoting United States District Court, 407 U.S. at 318, 92 S.Ct. 2125). A knock and talk investigation "involves officers knocking on the door of a house, identifying themselves as officers, asking to talk to the occupant about a criminal complaint, and eventually requesting permission to search the house." State v. Reinier, 628 N.W.2d 460, 466 (Iowa 2001). "If successful, it allows police officers who lack probable cause to gain access to a house and conduct a search." Id. Both federal and state appellate courts which have considered the question, including the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, have concluded that the knock and talk procedure does not per se violate the Fourth Amendment. See Scott v. State, 347 Ark. 767, 67 S.W.3d 567, 575 (2002)

; see also United States v. Johnson, 170 F.3d 708, 720 (7th Cir.1999); United States. v. Jones, 239 F.3d 716, 720 (5th Cir.2001); Scott v. State, 366 Md. 121, 782 A.2d 862, 872-73 (2001); People v. Frohriep, 247 Mich.App. 692, 637 N.W.2d 562, 566 (2001).

"Though the `knock and talk' procedure is not automatically violative of the Fourth Amendment, it can become so." Keenom v. State, 349 Ark. 381, 80 S.W.3d 743, 747 (2002). The constitutional analysis begins with the knock on the door. Scott v. State, 366 Md. 121, 782 A.2d 862, 867 (2001). The prevailing rule is that, absent a clear expression by the owner to the contrary, police officers, in the course of their official business, are permitted to approach one's dwelling and seek permission to question an occupant. Id. at 867-68.

"Not every confrontation between `policemen and citizens' amounts to a Fourth Amendment `seizure' of persons." State v. Carlson, 762 N.E.2d 121, 125 (Ind. Ct.App.2002) (quoting Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 19 n. 16, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968)). "`Only when the officer, by means of physical force or show of authority, has in some way restrained the liberty of a citizen may we conclude a "seizure" has occurred.'" Id. A seizure does not occur simply because a police officer approaches a person, asks questions, or requests identification. Id.

Courts examining the Fourth Amendment implications of the knock and talk procedure have held that a seizure occurs when, "taking into account all of the circumstances surrounding the encounter, the police conduct would `have communicated to a reasonable person that he was not at liberty to ignore the police presence and go about his business.'" See, e.g., Kaupp v. Texas, ___ U.S. ___, ___, 123 S.Ct. 1843, 1845, 155 L.Ed.2d 814 (2003)

(quoting Florida v. Bostick, 501 U.S. 429, 437, 111 S.Ct. 2382, 115 L.Ed.2d 389 (1991)) (holding seizure illegal where three officers got minor defendant out of bed in middle of night, handcuffed him, and drove him in patrol car to station); State v. Reinier, 628 N.W.2d 460, 469 (Iowa 2001) (holding seizure illegal where officers entered defendant's enclosed porch without first asking to enter and deceived defendant regarding their purpose for wanting to conduct search); Keenom, 80 S.W.3d at 747 (holding seizure illegal where officers continued...