Leeth v. Com., No. 810616
| Docket Nº | No. 810616 |
| Citation | 288 S.E.2d 475, 223 Va. 335 |
| Case Date | March 12, 1982 |
| Court | Supreme Court of Virginia |
Page 475
v.
COMMONWEALTH of Virginia.
Page 476
[223 Va. 336] John F. Rick, Richmond (William C. Plott, Lexington, Farino & Rick, Richmond, Foresman & Plott, Lexington, on briefs), for appellant.
[223 Va. 337] Ronald Wayne Fahy, Asst. Atty. Gen. (Marshall Coleman, Atty. Gen., Walter A. McFarlane, Deputy Atty. Gen., on brief), for appellee.
Before [223 Va. 335] CARRICO, C. J., COCHRAN, POFF, COMPTON, THOMPSON and STEPHENSON, JJ., and HARRISON, Retired Justice.
[223 Va. 337] COMPTON, Justice.
Convicted and fined $75 for operating a motor vehicle equipped with a radar detection device, in violation of Code § 46.1-198.1, John Hubert Leeth, III, attacks on appeal the sufficiency of the Commonwealth's evidence. He also claims the stopping and subsequent search of his automobile abridged his constitutional rights. He is wrong in each instance and we affirm the conviction.
As pertinent to this case, § 46.1-198.1 provides in subsection A that it shall be unlawful for any person to operate a motor vehicle upon the highways of this State when the vehicle is "equipped with" a radar detection device. The enactment proscribes other conduct pertaining to such devices that is not relevant here. The statute further provides that "[e]xcept as provided under subsection B of this section," the presence of such a device in the vehicle shall constitute prima facie evidence of a violation of the statute.
Subsection A also specifies the Commonwealth "need not prove that the device in question was in an operative condition or being operated." In June of 1978, this Court declared the foregoing sentence unconstitutional as applied to an "equipped with" violation. Crenshaw v. Commonwealth, 219 Va. 38, 245 S.E.2d 243 (1978).
The sentence remains a part of the statute, but in an amendment approved by the General Assembly in March of 1978 and effective July 1, 1978, Acts 1978, chs. 87, 91, subsection B was added. It provides that no person shall be guilty of a violation of the statute when the device in question, at the time of the alleged offense, "had no power source and was not readily accessible for use by the driver or any passenger in the vehicle."
Viewed in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, the evidence shows the following facts. On October 1, 1980, near 10:25 p. m., Virginia State Trooper William J. Jones, Jr., was alone in his police vehicle, stopped headed south on a ramp that afforded access to the southbound lane of Interstate Route 81 in Rockingham County. From that position, he observed a vehicle on the highway travelling south in excess of the 55-mile-per-hour speed limit. When the vehicle "appeared to be in range," Jones activated his police radar. At that instant, the brake lights of the [223 Va. 338] vehicle "came on," and it "braked suddenly, almost to the point of skidding."
Suspecting there was a radar detector in the vehicle, Jones proceeded behind the vehicle and observed, with the aid of his headlights, "a small cord hanging down from the interior rearview mirror" of the car ahead and "the driver fumbling over the sun visor on the driver's side of the vehicle."
Concluding that the driver was attempting to conceal a radar detector, Jones stopped the vehicle, which was being operated by the defendant Leeth. Upon request, defendant exhibited his driver's license and vehicle registration card. Jones then told defendant, who was also alone, that he had reason to believe a radar detection device was in the vehicle and that he
Page 477
wished to see it. Leeth, denying he possessed such a device, sought to prevent Jones' entry into his vehicle, stating any search of the car would be against defendant's will.Upon entering defendant's vehicle, Jones found a "power cord running from the dash up and over the rearview mirror and in behind the sun visor on the driver's side." Under the right front seat, Jones found a radar warning device that was visible "by shining a flashlight through the windshield on the passenger's side." Jones removed the device and carried it to the police vehicle where it "was plugged into the...
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Rudolph v. Commonwealth, Record No. 0240-07-1 (Va. App. 2/26/2008), Record No. 0240-07-1.
...tending to focus suspicion on the specific individual seized. Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648, 663 (1979); Leeth v. Commonwealth, 223 Va. 335, 340, 288 S.E.2d 475, 478 (1982) (citing United States v. Cortez, 449 U.S. 411, 417-18 (1981)); Giles v. Commonwealth, 32 Va. App. 519, 523, 529 S.E......
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Welshman v. Com., Record No. 0818-96-3.
...99 S.Ct. 1391 (holding that stop of automobile requires reasonable, articulable suspicion of criminal activity); Leeth v. Commonwealth, 223 Va. 335, 340, 288 S.E.2d 475, 478 (1982) (citing Brown, 443 U.S. at 51, 99 S.Ct. 2637) 502 S.E.2d 132 (holding that stop of automobile requires reasona......
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Harris v. Com., Record No. 080437.
...214, 217, 491 S.E.2d 721, 722 (1997); Zimmerman v. Commonwealth, 234 Va. 609, 611-12, 363 S.E.2d 708, 709 (1988); Leeth v. Commonwealth, 223 Va. 335, 340, 288 S.E.2d 475, 478 (1982). Importantly, Officer Picard's testimony, describing what he actually observed at the time, does not indicate......
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Ford v. Com., Record No. 0119-97-2.
...about to commit a crime. See United States v. Cortez, 449 U.S. 411, 417-18, 101 S.Ct. 690, 66 L.Ed.2d 621 (1981); Leeth v. Commonwealth, 223 Va. 335, 340, 288 S.E.2d 475, 478 (1982) (a stop requires a less stringent test than probable cause); DePriest, 4 Va.App. at 584, 359 S.E.2d at 543. A......
-
Rudolph v. Commonwealth, Record No. 0240-07-1 (Va. App. 2/26/2008), Record No. 0240-07-1.
...tending to focus suspicion on the specific individual seized. Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648, 663 (1979); Leeth v. Commonwealth, 223 Va. 335, 340, 288 S.E.2d 475, 478 (1982) (citing United States v. Cortez, 449 U.S. 411, 417-18 (1981)); Giles v. Commonwealth, 32 Va. App. 519, 523, 529 S.E......
-
Welshman v. Com., Record No. 0818-96-3.
...99 S.Ct. 1391 (holding that stop of automobile requires reasonable, articulable suspicion of criminal activity); Leeth v. Commonwealth, 223 Va. 335, 340, 288 S.E.2d 475, 478 (1982) (citing Brown, 443 U.S. at 51, 99 S.Ct. 2637) 502 S.E.2d 132 (holding that stop of automobile requires reasona......
-
Harris v. Com., Record No. 080437.
...214, 217, 491 S.E.2d 721, 722 (1997); Zimmerman v. Commonwealth, 234 Va. 609, 611-12, 363 S.E.2d 708, 709 (1988); Leeth v. Commonwealth, 223 Va. 335, 340, 288 S.E.2d 475, 478 (1982). Importantly, Officer Picard's testimony, describing what he actually observed at the time, does not indicate......
-
Ford v. Com., Record No. 0119-97-2.
...about to commit a crime. See United States v. Cortez, 449 U.S. 411, 417-18, 101 S.Ct. 690, 66 L.Ed.2d 621 (1981); Leeth v. Commonwealth, 223 Va. 335, 340, 288 S.E.2d 475, 478 (1982) (a stop requires a less stringent test than probable cause); DePriest, 4 Va.App. at 584, 359 S.E.2d at 543. A......