Murphy v. State

Decision Date23 May 2001
Docket NumberNo. 49S00-0006-CR-370.,49S00-0006-CR-370.
Citation747 N.E.2d 557
PartiesJesse MURPHY, Defendant-Appellant, v. STATE of Indiana, Plaintiff-Appellee.
CourtIndiana Supreme Court

Kevin C.C. Wild, Indianapolis, IN, Attorney for Appellant.

Karen M. Freeman-Wilson, Attorney General of Indiana, Christopher L. Lafuse, Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, IN, Attorneys for Appellee.

DICKSON, Justice.

The defendant, Jesse Murphy, was convicted of dealing in cocaine,1 possession of cocaine,2 and two counts of resisting law enforcement.3 He seeks appellate relief based on claims that the evidence presented at trial resulted from a suspicionless investigatory stop and that the State's closing argument was improper. We affirm the convictions. The defendant contends that the police officer lacked reasonable suspicion to conduct an investigatory stop. The trial court denied the defendant's motion to suppress, and the defendant reiterated his objection at trial. In reviewing the trial court's decision, we consider the evidence favorable to the trial court's ruling and any uncontradicted substantial evidence to the contrary to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to support the ruling. Ogle v. State, 698 N.E.2d 1146, 1148 (Ind. 1998); Vance v. State, 620 N.E.2d 687, 691 (Ind.1993). We will set aside the findings of the trial court only if they are clearly erroneous. Ind.Trial Rule 52(A).

Under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, a seizure of the individual does not occur until "the officer, by means of physical force or show of authority, has in some way restrained the liberty of a citizen." Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 20 n. 16, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 1879 n. 16, 20 L.Ed.2d 889, 905 n. 16 (1968). The United States Supreme Court has subsequently interpreted that requirement in Terry to mean that seizure does not occur when the suspect fails to yield to law enforcement authority. California v. Hodari D., 499 U.S. 621, 624-26, 111 S.Ct. 1547, 1550, 113 L.Ed.2d 690, 695-697, (1991).4 But if a seizure occurs, the police may briefly detain an individual if under the totality of the circumstances the officer has a reasonable suspicion that the individual is engaged in or is about to engage in criminal activity. United States v. Sokolow, 490 U.S. 1, 7-8, 109 S.Ct. 1581, 1585, 104 L.Ed.2d 1, 10 (1989); Terry, 392 U.S. at 30, 88 S.Ct. at 1884-85, 20 L.Ed.2d at 911.

At approximately 3:00 a.m., two officers in separate marked squad cars were patrolling a high crime area. As the officers drove northbound, they observed the defendant leaning into a car through the open driver's side door. The defendant looked in the direction of the police and, with a surprised expression, shut the car door and moved to a darkened area between two houses. Both officers stopped their cars, and one officer approached the defendant to investigate. The officer asked the defendant to stop. The defendant began to walk toward the officer with his hand in his pocket. Before reaching the officer, the officer asked him to remove his hand, and the defendant threw a baggie with a white substance in it onto the porch of one of the houses then turned and fled. The officer testified that he suspected the substance to be cocaine. At that time the defendant and the officer were about ten feet apart, and there was light from the street. The officers gave chase. One of the officers attempted to tackle the defendant, but, after dropping a second, larger bag of white substance, the defendant continued to run. The officers were subsequently able to subdue him.

The trial judge found this case "very similar" to Hodari D. and concluded that the initial encounter between the police and the defendant was not an illegal stop because there had been no physical seizure or a submission to authority. Record at 139-40. This finding is supported by the evidence and is not clearly erroneous. The trial judge also found that even if the attempted tackle by one of the officers was considered a seizure, the officers had reasonable suspicion, if not probable cause, to seize the defendant at that point. Id. at 140-41. We agree. The trial court did not err in denying the defendant's motion to suppress.

In the defendant's second issue on appeal he argues that a statement by the prosecutor...

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13 cases
  • Robinson v. State
    • United States
    • Indiana Supreme Court
    • March 25, 2014
    ...substantial and uncontested evidence favorable to the defendant. Holder v. State, 847 N.E.2d 930, 935 (Ind.2006) (citing Murphy v. State, 747 N.E.2d 557, 559 (Ind.2001); Ogle v. State, 698 N.E.2d 1146, 1148–49 (Ind.1998)). We defer to the trial court's findings of fact unless they are clear......
  • Kelly v. State
    • United States
    • Indiana Supreme Court
    • November 21, 2013
    ...however, we will also consider any substantial and uncontested evidence favorable to the defendant. Id. (citing Murphy v. State, 747 N.E.2d 557, 559 (Ind.2001); Ogle v. State, 698 N.E.2d 1146, 1148–49 (Ind.1998)). The constitutionality of a search or seizure is a question of law, and we rev......
  • Holder v. State
    • United States
    • Indiana Supreme Court
    • May 18, 2006
    ...substantial uncontradicted evidence to the contrary, to decide whether the evidence is sufficient to support the ruling. Murphy v. State, 747 N.E.2d 557, 559 (Ind.2001); Ogle v. State, 698 N.E.2d 1146, 1148-49 (Ind.1998). The federal Fourth Amendment and Article 1, Section 11, of the Indian......
  • McIlquham v. State
    • United States
    • Indiana Supreme Court
    • June 20, 2014
    ...847 N.E.2d 930, 935 (Ind.2006). If the trial court made any findings of fact, we will review them only for clear error, Murphy v. State, 747 N.E.2d 557, 559 (Ind.2001); but the ultimate “ruling on the constitutionality of a search” is a legal conclusion that we review de novo, Garcia–Torres......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

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