Patterson v. State
| Decision Date | 17 November 2011 |
| Docket Number | No. 49A05–1102–CR–38.,49A05–1102–CR–38. |
| Citation | 958 N.E.2d 478 |
| Court | Indiana Appellate Court |
| Parties | Lindell PATTERSON, Appellant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee. |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Timothy J. Burns, Indianapolis, IN, Attorney for Appellant.
Gregory F. Zoeller, Attorney General of Indiana, Andrew R. Falk, Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, IN, Attorneys for Appellee.
Lindell Patterson (“Patterson”) was convicted in Marion Superior Court of Class A misdemeanor possession of marijuana. On appeal, Patterson argues that the trial court abused its discretion in admitting into evidence marijuana obtained as a result of an unlawful search and seizure. We affirm.
On March 1, 2010, Officer Debra Dotson (“Officer Dotson”) of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department was conducting patrol duties in the vicinity of 10th Street and Tibbs Avenue in Indianapolis. At around midnight, after observing a vehicle turn right without using a turn signal, Officer Dotson initiated a traffic stop. When Officer Dotson approached the car, the driver, who later identified himself as Patterson, opened the driver's side door rather than rolling the window down because the window was apparently not working. When Patterson did so, Officer Dotson detected what she believed to be the odor of burnt marijuana emanating from the vehicle. Officer Dotson then asked for Patterson's driver's license and registration. Patterson produced a valid Indiana driver's license, but he told Officer Dotson that he did not have a registration card for the vehicle. Officer Dotson took Patterson's driver's license and returned to her police vehicle, where she called for backup because she intended to search Patterson's car based on the odor of marijuana emanating from the vehicle.
When backup arrived, Officer Dotson again approached Patterson and asked him if there was any marijuana in the car or on his person. After Patterson responded that there was not, Officer Dotson asked him to step out of the vehicle. Patterson complied, and Officer Dotson performed a pat-down search of Patterson's person, ostensibly for officer safety. While conducting the pat-down, Officer Dotson felt an object located in Patterson's right front pants pocket, which she immediately recognized as “narcotics.” Tr. p. 13. Officer Dotson then reached into Patterson's pocket and retrieved the item, a small plastic baggie containing a green, leafy substance that later testing revealed to be marijuana. No additional contraband was discovered during a subsequent search of Patterson's car. Officer Dotson seized the marijuana she found on Patterson's person, but chose not to arrest Patterson, instead issuing him a criminal summons.
As a result of this incident, the State charged Patterson with Class A misdemeanor possession of marijuana. Patterson thereafter moved to suppress the marijuana, alleging that it was obtained as a result of an unlawful search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article 1, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution. At the suppression hearing, Officer Dotson testified that she conducted the pat-down for officer safety because the traffic stop took place in a “high crime area” that is well-known for high levels of prostitution, drug activity, and gun violence. Tr. p. 10. Officer Dotson testified further that she was concerned about the presence of weapons due to the smell of marijuana because, in her experience as a law enforcement officer, “guns go hand in hand with drugs.” Tr. p. 16. The trial court denied Patterson's motion to suppress and, following a bench trial, found him guilty as charged. Patterson now appeals.
Patterson contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress the marijuana. Because Patterson appeals following his conviction and is not appealing the trial court's interlocutory order denying his motion to suppress, the question is properly framed as whether the trial court abused its discretion in admitting the marijuana into evidence. See Parish v. State, 936 N.E.2d 346, 349 (Ind.Ct.App.2010), trans. denied. The admission of evidence is within the sound discretion of the trial court, and we will reverse only for an abuse of that discretion. Rogers v. State, 897 N.E.2d 955, 959 (Ind.Ct.App.2008), trans. denied. A trial court abuses its discretion if its decision is clearly against the logic and the effect of the facts and circumstances before the court, or if the court has misinterpreted the law. Id. We do not reweigh the evidence, and we consider conflicting evidence most favorable to the trial court's ruling, but we also consider the uncontested evidence favorable to the defendant. Collins v. State, 822 N.E.2d 214, 218 (Ind.Ct.App.2005), trans. denied.
The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. Malone v. State, 882 N.E.2d 784, 786 (Ind.Ct.App.2008). “Searches performed by government officials without warrants are per se unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment, subject to a ‘few specifically established and well-delineated exceptions.’ ” Holder v. State, 847 N.E.2d 930, 935 (Ind.2006) (quoting Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347, 357, 88 S.Ct. 507, 19 L.Ed.2d 576 (1967)). When a search is conducted without a warrant, the State bears the burden of proving that an exception to the warrant requirement existed at the time of the search. Id.; Malone, 882 N.E.2d at 786.
One such exception was established in Terry v. Ohio, in which the United States Supreme Court held that a police officer may briefly detain a person for investigatory purposes if, based on specific and articulable facts together with reasonable inferences drawn therefrom, an ordinarily prudent person would reasonably suspect that criminal activity was afoot. 392 U.S. 1, 30, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968); Howard v. State, 862 N.E.2d 1208, 1210 (Ind.Ct.App.2007). Reasonable suspicion is determined on a case-by-case basis by examining the totality of the circumstances. Id. In addition to detainment, Terry permits a police officer to conduct a limited search of the individual's outer clothing for weapons if the officer reasonably believes that the individual is armed and dangerous. Id. An officer's authority to perform such a pat-down search of a detained individual during a Terry stop is dependent upon the nature and extent of the officer's particularized concern for his or her safety. Rybolt v. State, 770 N.E.2d 935, 938 (Ind.Ct.App.2002), trans. denied.
As an initial matter, we note that Patterson does not challenge the initial traffic stop. Indeed, it is well settled that a police officer may stop a vehicle upon observing a minor traffic violation. Reinhart v. State, 930 N.E.2d 42, 46 (Ind.Ct.App.2010). Here, Officer Dotson testified that she observed Patterson make a right turn without using his turn signal, in violation of Indiana's traffic laws. See Ind.Code § 9–21–8–25 (2004) (). The initial traffic stop was therefore valid. On appeal, Patterson challenges the validity of the pat-down search of his person. Specifically, Patterson argues that the pat-down search was unlawful because Officer Dotson did not have reasonable suspicion to believe that Patterson was armed and dangerous.1
First, Patterson argues that Officer Dotson's testimony that she detected the odor of burnt marijuana emanating from Patterson's vehicle cannot support a finding of reasonable suspicion because the record does not establish that Officer Dotson had sufficient training and experience to recognize the odor of burnt marijuana.2 In support of this argument, Patterson notes that Officer Dotson testified that “[i]mmediately as soon as [Patterson] open [ed] up the door, with my law enforcement training and experience I detected a smell I believed to be burnt marijuana.” Tr. p. 12. Although Officer Dotson testified that she had completed training at two separate law enforcement academies, that she received ongoing training twice a year, and that she had fourteen years of law enforcement experience, Patterson accurately points out that the record contains no evidence detailing the specific training Officer Dotson has received that would make her qualified to identify the smell of marijuana. Patterson claims that such evidence was required in order to establish reasonable suspicion. We disagree.
In support of his argument regarding Officer Dotson's qualifications to recognize the smell of burnt marijuana, Patterson cites State v. Holley, 899 N.E.2d 31 (Ind.Ct.App.2008), trans. denied. In Holley, a police officer detected the smell of raw marijuana emanating from the passenger compartment of Holley's vehicle during a traffic stop and, on that basis, conducted a warrantless search of the vehicle, during which the officer discovered marijuana. Id. at 32–33. As a result, Holley was charged with Class A misdemeanor possession of marijuana. Id. at 33. Prior to trial, Holley filed a motion to suppress the marijuana found in the vehicle, which the trial court granted without comment. Id. After dismissing the charge against Holley, the State appealed the trial court's ruling on the motion to suppress. Id.
On appeal, the State relied on State v. Hawkins, 766 N.E.2d 749, 752 (Ind.Ct.App.2002), trans. denied, for the proposition that the odor of marijuana emanating from the vehicle, when detected by a trained and experienced police officer, constitutes probable cause to conduct a search of the vehicle. Holley, 899 N.E.2d at 34. The Holley court distinguished Hawkins, noting that no issue regarding the officer's qualifications to identify the smell of marijuana was presented in that case because the defendant stipulated to the facts alleged in the probable cause affidavit that the officer knew through his training and experience that the odor was burnt...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Norman v. State
... ... In Patterson v. State , 958 N.E.2d 478, 48587 (Ind. Ct. App. 2011), the Court of Appeals of Indiana held that a law enforcement officer had reasonable articulable suspicion that a defendant was armed and dangerous where the law enforcement officer initiated a traffic stop of a vehicle that the defendant had ... ...
-
Norman v. State
... ... In Patterson v. State , 958 N.E.2d 478, 485-87 (Ind. Ct. App. 2011), the Court of Appeals of Indiana held that a law enforcement officer had reasonable articulable suspicion that a defendant was armed and dangerous where the law enforcement officer initiated a traffic stop of a vehicle that the defendant had ... ...
-
Johnson v. State
... ... "[C]ourts have often considered evidence of drug involvement as part of the totality of the circumstances contributing to an officer's reasonable belief that a subject is armed and dangerous." Patterson v. State , 958 N.E.2d 478, 486 (Ind. Ct. App. 2011). While our Court of Appeals has held that evidence of marijuana use by a driver may not create a reasonable fear that a suspect is armed, see Rybolt v. State , 770 N.E.2d 935, 941 (Ind. Ct. App. 2002) (holding pat-down unjustified when ... ...
-
Killebrew v. State
... ... Thus, the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures by the government. Patterson v. State, 958 N.E.2d 478, 482 (Ind.Ct.App.2011). Searches performed by government officials without warrants are per se unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment, subject to a few specifically established and well-delineated exceptions. Holder v. State, 847 N.E.2d 930, 935 (Ind.2006) (quoting Katz ... ...