People v. Atkins, Docket No. 45188

• Decision Date: 16 April 1980
• Docket Number: Docket No. 45188
• Citation: 96 Mich.App. 672,293 N.W.2d 671
• Parties: PEOPLE of the State of Michigan, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Aaron Clinton ATKINS and Travis Melvin Wiggins, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: Court of Appeal of Michigan — District of US

Page 671

293 N.W.2d 671

96 Mich.App. 672

PEOPLE of the State of Michigan, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Aaron Clinton ATKINS and Travis Melvin Wiggins, Defendants-Appellees.

Docket No. 45188.

Court of Appeals of Michigan.

April 16, 1980.

Released for Publication July 11, 1980.

Frank J. Kelley, Atty. Gen., Robert A. Derengoski, Sol. Gen., William L. Cahalan, Pros. Atty., E. Reilly Wilson, Appellate Chief Pros. Atty., Maura D. Corrigan, Asst. Pros. Atty., for plaintiff-appellant.

Edward F. Bell, Detroit, for Aaron Atkins.

Robert J. Simmons, Detroit, for Melvin Wiggins.

Before CAVANAGH, P. J., and KELLY and DeWITT, ^* JJ.

CAVANAGH, Presiding Judge.

The prosecution was granted leave to appeal from the two-pronged ruling of the trial court that suppressed a tape-recorded telephone conversation between an informant and defendant Wiggins and denied admission of evidence of other crimes allegedly involving the defendants.

Defendants Atkins and Wiggins were arraigned on charges of first-degree murder stemming from the July 13, 1974, murder of one Girard Tolbert. Ronald Moore, the informant in this case, testified at the preliminary examination that defendant Atkins effected the release of Tolbert on bond, and, with the assistance of Moore and defendant Wiggins, killed Tolbert by injecting him with heroin and then holding his head under water.

The prosecution contended that both defendants were involved with two separate shooting incidents which were related to the charged offense and which occurred shortly before and after Tolbert's death. Defendant Wiggins was convicted for the attempted murder of one "Pimp" Hines and has remained incarcerated in Jackson Prison therefor since 1975. Charges against defendant Atkins arising from that incident were dismissed by Justice, then Circuit Court Judge, Blair Moody, Jr., on the basis that there was no evidence to connect him with the crime. In the other incident, a shooting on Snow Road where two men were shot, one of whom died, directed verdicts of acquittal were entered in favor of both defendants.

In an effort to link defendant Wiggins to Tolbert's death, the Detroit Police obtained a Beavers ¹ search warrant in December of 1978 based on an affidavit of Moore who agreed to telephone defendant Wiggins in prison and have the conversation recorded.

At an evidentiary hearing counsel for defendant Wiggins orally moved to suppress the recordings on the basis of entrapment, also later arguing that the supporting affidavit was insufficient. Counsel for defendant Atkins was also permitted to cross-examine a police witness in this regard, over objections that he had no standing to question the admission of the recordings and that he had never brought a motion to suppress. The trial court ruled that no evidence could be admitted concerning the two allegedly related shootings due to their lack of materiality to the charged offense and because the prejudice of their admission would outweigh their probative value. The recordings were also held to be nonadmissible since the search warrant was too general and the reliability of the informant was not established.

The prosecution is correct in maintaining that defendant Atkins lacks standing to object to the admission of the recorded conversations. "Fourth Amendment rights are personal rights which, like some other constitutional rights, may not be vicariously asserted". Alderman v. United States, 394 U.S. 165, 174, 89 S.Ct. 961, 966-67, 22 L.Ed.2d 176 (1969). If there was a search and seizure that was violative of the Fourth Amendment, as we shall ascertain below, it did not involve defendant Atkins as a party to the conversations nor as one from whose premises the conversations were "taken". Alderman, p. 176, 89 S.Ct. p. 968. Application of the exclusionary rule with regard to defendant Atkins in this instance would serve neither to protect his right to privacy, the same never having been invaded, nor would it deter police misconduct, given that the police obtained a warrant before recording the conversations. People v. Warner, 401 Mich. 186, 209, 258 N.W.2d 385 (1977). As a consequence, the recordings may be admitted against defendant Atkins, because, "Coconspirators and codefendants have been accorded no special standing". Alderman, supra, 394 U.S. p. 172, 89 S.Ct. p. 965. Defendant Wiggins may, accordingly, invoke the discretion of the trial court by moving for a separate trial. People v. Slate, 73 Mich.App. 126, 131-132, 250 N.W.2d 572 (1977). M.C.L. § 768.5; M.S.A. § 28.1028. See 54 A.L.R.2d 830.

Our consideration of the adequacy of the search warrant in this case is premised upon the accepted rule that absent a clear abuse of discretion, this Court will not substitute its judgment for that of the magistrate in determining probable cause. People v. Thomas, 86 Mich.App. 752, 759, 273 N.W.2d 548 (1978), lv. den. 406 Mich. 971 (1979), Justice Levin dissenting.

The language in the warrant describing what was to be seized read as follows: "All conversations dealing primarily with the subject of illegal drug trafficking and or murders where those conversations are between Ronald Moore AKA Ronnie Moore, a police agent, and Travis Melvin Wiggins". The accompanying affidavit, which must concededly be read in a common sense manner in conjunction with the warrant, People v. Iaconis, 29 Mich.App. 443, 454, 185 N.W.2d 609 (1971), aff'd in People v. Bercheny, 387 Mich. 431, 196 N.W.2d 767 (1972), recites that, "Affiant is a Detroit Police Officer who is personally acquainted with Ronald Moore. Ronald Moore has been supplying information to Federal and local agencies concerning criminal activity of Aaron Atkins since the summer of 1977". It then relates Moore's version of the Tolbert killing, that Moore and Wiggins worked for Atkins at that time, and that Moore and Wiggins were both currently in prison. Finally, the stated purpose of the search warrant, " * * * is to cover a telephone call(s) initiated by SOI (Moore) wherein it is hoped that Wiggins will discuss his criminal activities."

The prosecution attacks the suppression of the recordings on two fronts, viz., that Ronald Moore was identified in the warrant and that he made admissions against his penal interest. The latter factor is of no avail since Moore was given immunity in this case, and, therefore, reliance upon United States v. Harris, 403 U.S. 573 91 S.Ct. 2075, 29 L.Ed.2d 723 (1971), is misplaced. While knowledge of the identity of an informer lends some credibility to his or her information, standing alone in this case, it is not enough. See People v. Tooks, 403 Mich. 568, 271 N.W.2d 503 (1978). The affiant here never attested that Moore was reliable; he simply stated that he knew him and that Moore had previously supplied information to the police. It was never purported that such information had been helpful or even that it was accurate. Thus, we are faced with an affidavit based only on informant information with the recitation of details of the alleged murder as the only indicium of reliability. As such, the affidavit would fail the tests proposed in People v. Rodriguez, 65 Mich.App. 723, 726-728, 238 N.W.2d 385 (1975), lv. den. 396 Mich. 852 (1976). Moreover, the affidavit and warrant do not satisfy the "particularity" requirement by describing with reasonable precision the evidence sought to be obtained. Even a common sense reading of the two cannot avoid the impermissibly broad references to "illegal drug trafficking and or murders" and Wiggin's "criminal activities". Marron v. United States, 275 U.S. 192, 196, 48 S.Ct. 74, 76, 72 L.Ed. 231 (1927). See also People v. Taylor, 93 Mich.App. 292, 287 N.W.2d 210 (1979).

The prosecution also argues that since one of the parties to the conversations consented to their being recorded, no prior judicial authorization is required under United States v. White, 401 U.S. 745, 91 S.Ct. 1122, 28 L.Ed.2d 453 (1971). While our Supreme Court chose to exceed the United States Supreme court in White, supra, through its decision in People v. Beavers, 393 Mich. 554, 562-566, 227 N.W.2d 511 (1975), cert. den., 423 U.S. 878, 96 S.Ct. 152, 46 L.Ed.2d 111 (1975), the situation present in this case differs slightly from that in Beavers. Here, we address the recording of a conversation between two persons, one of whom is aware of the recording and one who is not, the recording being effected by a third party. See Beavers, p. 562, fn. 2 for the definition of participant monitoring. However, this Court has already applied the Beavers requirement for a...