Lockett v. State

Decision Date20 December 1999
Docket NumberNo. 02A03-9905-CR-184.,02A03-9905-CR-184.
Citation720 N.E.2d 762
PartiesGeoffrey C. LOCKETT, Appellant-Defendant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff.
CourtIndiana Appellate Court

P. Stephen Miller, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Attorney for Appellant.

Jeffrey A. Modisett, Attorney General of Indiana, Teresa Dashiell Giller, Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, Indiana, Attorneys for Appellee.

OPINION

KIRSCH, Judge

In this interlocutory appeal, Geoffrey Lockett challenges the trial court's denial of his motion to suppress evidence obtained by the State as the result of a warrantless search of the vehicle in which he was driving. Lockett raises the following issue for our review: whether a police officer may routinely ask a driver legitimately stopped for a traffic violation if he has a weapon in the vehicle or on his person. We hold that a police officer may not as a matter of routine practice make this inquiry.

We reverse.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY1

In the early morning hours of October 2, 1998, Officer Jon Bonar and Officer Jeffrey Chang of the Fort Wayne Police Department were working the Saturation Patrol2 on the south side of Fort Wayne when they observed Lockett's car driving erratically. Specifically, Bonar saw Lockett, the driver of the car, failing to signal as the car made several wide turns, varying the speed of the car in increments of between ten and fifteen miles per hour, using the entire roadway, and coming very close to cars parked on both sides of the street. After following the car for several blocks in his marked patrol car, Bonar stopped the car on the suspicion that the driver was impaired. Bonar also noticed that a passenger in the back seat of Lockett's car kept turning around to look at the pursuing patrol car. In addition to the back seat passenger, there was also a passenger seated in the front seat of the car.

Bonar exited his patrol car and went up to talk to the driver. Chang also exited the patrol car, but stood at the right front corner of the car. As Bonar approached the vehicle, Lockett rolled down the window, and Bonar detected a smell of alcohol emanating from the vehicle. Before asking Lockett for his identification, Bonar asked Lockett whether he had any weapons in the vehicle. Bonar asks this question of every individual he stops for safety reasons. Lockett did not respond to this question, but produced his identification card. Bonar asked Lockett to step out of the car in order to perform a field sobriety test and again asked him if he had any weapons on his person or in the vehicle. At this point, Lockett responded that he had a weapon under the front driver's seat. When Bonar looked down, he saw the gun. According to Bonar, once Lockett had exited the vehicle, the weapon was "sticking out underneath the front seat" and was "quite visible." Record at 60.

When questioned by Bonar about whether he had a permit for the gun, Lockett stated that he did and produced a permit. However, the permit was actually in Lockett's wife's name. Lockett then told Bonar that he did not have a permit in his own name. Bonar testified that if Lockett had produced a valid permit, the gun would have been returned to him, and Lockett would only have received a ticket for driving while suspended.

Lockett was subsequently charged with carrying a handgun without a license,3 as a Class C felony. On March 8, 1999, Lockett filed a motion to suppress the handgun seized by Bonar during the traffic stop.

The trial court held a hearing on the motion to suppress on March 22, 1999. The trial court denied the motion. Lockett then petitioned the trial court to certify the order for an interlocutory appeal. The trial court certified the matter, stating the issue as "whether law enforcement officers may routinely ask a driver stopped for a traffic infraction if he has a weapon or firearm in the vehicle."4 Record at 40. We accepted jurisdiction pursuant to Ind. Appellate Rule 4(B)(6).

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

Lockett claims that Bonar's question about whether he had a weapon in the vehicle or on his person violates the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article 1, § 11 of the Indiana Constitution. He does not challenge the constitutionality of the initial traffic stop. Rather, he contends that the officer's questioning about whether he possessed weapons in his vehicle or on his person after the initial stop was unconstitutional because it impermissibly expanded the scope of the original stop in violation of Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968). Lockett relies on the rule established in Terry and later cases that for safety reasons a police officer may patdown a driver and vehicle, but prior to the patdown the officer must have a reasonable belief that the suspect is armed and dangerous. Lockett claims that Bonar did not reasonably believe that Lockett was armed and dangerous. Citing Berkemer v. McCarty, 468 U.S. 420, 104 S.Ct. 3138, 82 L.Ed.2d 317 (1984), Lockett also argues that because an inquiry following a stop must be reasonably related in scope to the justification for the stop, it is unconstitutional for an officer to routinely ask every individual whether they have a weapon.

The State in its brief does not directly address the issue of the constitutionality of a police officer's actions in routinely asking everyone he stops about the presence of weapons. Instead, the State argues that the trial court properly denied the motion to suppress because the evidence established that Bonar asked the question for purposes of officer safety. To support this argument, the State points to Bonar's testimony, which revealed the following: 1) the stop occurred at 2:20 a.m.; 2) the rear seat passenger turned around to look at the patrol car; 3) Lockett was stopped for impaired driving; and 4) Bonar once had to shoot a person during a traffic stop and had been stabbed during traffic stops. The State claims that "[i]t was reasonably prudent for Officer Bonar to confirm the absence or presence of weapons before proceeding with his investigation of [Lockett] as a possible drunk driver." Appellee's Brief at 6.

The trial court has broad discretion in ruling on the admissibility of evidence. Drake v. State, 655 N.E.2d 574, 575 (Ind.Ct.App.1995). We will reverse a trial court's ruling on the admissibility of evidence only when it has been shown that the trial court abused its discretion. Carter v. State, 692 N.E.2d 464, 465 (Ind.Ct. App.1997). A trial court's decision to deny a motion to suppress is reviewed as a matter of sufficiency. Wilson v. State, 670 N.E.2d 27, 29 (Ind.Ct.App.1996). Thus, in reviewing a trial court's decision on a motion to suppress, we do not reweigh the evidence or judge the credibility of witnesses, but determine if there was substantial evidence of probative value to support the trial court's ruling. Whitfield v. State, 699 N.E.2d 666, 668 (Ind.Ct.App. 1998), trans. denied. However, when evaluating determinations of reasonable suspicion, we accept the factual findings of the trial court unless they are clearly erroneous. Ornelas v. United States, 517 U.S. 690, 116 S.Ct. 1657, 1663, 134 L.Ed.2d 911 (1996); L.A.F. v. State, 698 N.E.2d 355, 356 (Ind.Ct.App.1998). We review de novo the ultimate determination of reasonable suspicion. Ornelas, 116 S.Ct. at 1663; L.A.F., 698 N.E.2d at 356.

The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution, as applied to the states by virtue of the Fourteenth 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."

U.S. CONST. amend IV. Article One, Section Eleven of our state constitution contains an identical provision that protects persons against unreasonable searches and seizures. Both provisions have been interpreted to mean that searches and seizures that occur without prior judicial authorization in the form of a warrant are per se unreasonable, unless an exception applies. Conwell v. State, 714 N.E.2d 764, 766 (Ind. Ct.App.1999). The State bears the burden of proving that a warrantless search falls within one of the narrow exceptions to the warrant requirement. State v. Friedel, 714 N.E.2d 1231, 1237 (Ind.Ct.App.1999).

The Terry investigatory stop and frisk is one such exception to the warrant requirement. In Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968), the United States Supreme Court established the rule that the police can stop and briefly detain an individual for investigatory purposes if, based upon specific and articulable facts, the officer has a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity even if the officer lacks probable cause to make an arrest. To determine whether a seizure ("stop") and search ("frisk") are unreasonable, the Supreme Court established a two-part test: "whether the officer's action was justified at its inception, and whether it was reasonably related in scope to the circumstances which justified the interference in the first place." Id. at 19-20, 88 S.Ct. 1868. In discussing the scope of the search, the Court stated that "[t]he scope of the search must be `strictly tied to and justified by' the circumstances which rendered its initiation permissible." Id. at 19, 88 S.Ct. 1868 (quoting Warden v. Hayden, 387 U.S. 294, 310, 87 S.Ct. 1642, 1652, 18 L.Ed.2d 782 (1967) (Justice Fortas, concurring)). The Supreme Court also defined the protective purpose of the patdown search:

"Our evaluation of the proper balance that has to be struck in this type of case leads us to conclude that there must be a narrowly drawn authority to permit a reasonable search for weapons for the protection of the police officer, where he has reason to believe
...

To continue reading

Request your trial
6 cases
  • Turner v. Sheriff of Marion County, IP97-2013-C-F/D.
    • United States
    • United States District Courts. 7th Circuit. United States District Court (Southern District of Indiana)
    • March 1, 2000
    ...found that the supporting authorities cited in those decisions are based on interpretations of Section Eleven. See Lockett v. State, 720 N.E.2d 762, 766 (Ind.Ct.App.1999); Johnson v. State, 710 N.E.2d 925, 927 (Ind.Ct.App. 1999); DeLong v. State, 670 N.E.2d 56, 57 (Ind.Ct.App.1996); Zimmerm......
  • Lockett v. State
    • United States
    • Supreme Court of Indiana
    • May 21, 2001
    ...officer may not as matter of routine practice question about the presence of weapons during a traffic violation stop. Lockett v. State, 720 N.E.2d 762 (Ind.Ct. App.1999). We granted transfer and now affirm the trial court, holding that the Fourth Amendment does not prohibit police from rout......
  • Tumblin v. State, APPELLANT-DEFENDANT
    • United States
    • Court of Appeals of Indiana
    • May 15, 2000
    ...to law and thus, the driver's verbal assent was constitutionally defective. He relies upon our recent decision in Lockett v. State, 720 N.E.2d 762 (Ind. Ct. App. 1999). Lockett was stopped because of erratic driving, and the detaining officer detected a smell of alcohol emanating from Locke......
  • Ransom v. State, 49A04-0005-CR-199.
    • United States
    • Court of Appeals of Indiana
    • December 28, 2000
    ...Nottingham's initial questioning of Ransom concerning the presence of narcotics or weapons was unlawful on the basis of Lockett v. State, 720 N.E.2d 762 (Ind.Ct.App.1999), trans. granted.1 The trial court further concluded that the consent to the search was voluntary. Thus, although the tri......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT