People v. Cline

• Citation: 439 P.3d 1232
• Decision Date: 06 May 2019
• Docket Number: Supreme Court Case No. 19SA20
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of Colorado, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Justin Ray CLINE, Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: Supreme Court of Colorado

439 P.3d 1232

The PEOPLE of the State of Colorado, Plaintiff-Appellant,

v.Justin Ray CLINE, Defendant-Appellee.

Supreme Court Case No. 19SA20

Supreme Court of Colorado.

May 6, 2019

Attorneys for Plaintiff-Appellant: Brett D. Barkey, District Attorney, Fourteenth Judicial District, Brittany Schneider, Deputy District Attorney, Craig, Colorado

Attorneys for Defendant-Appellee: Megan A. Ring, Public Defender, Abigail Kurtz-Phelan, Senior Deputy Public Defender, Steamboat Springs, Colorado

En Banc

JUSTICE SAMOUR delivered the Opinion of the Court.

¶1 In this interlocutory appeal, we address whether the trial court erred in suppressing a statement made by the defendant, Justin Cline, following a search of his residence by his parole officer and a member of the Craig Police Department. The search yielded a zippered pouch containing a glass pipe and a small piece of straw with white powdery residue that tested presumptively positive for methamphetamine. The trial court found that when Corporal Grant Laehr confronted Cline with the zippered pouch and questioned him, Cline was "effectively under arrest" and "not free to leave." In a written order, the trial court reiterated that once Cline was confronted with the zippered pouch, "a reasonable person in [his] position would not have believed he was free to leave." The trial court ruled that any subsequent questions should have been preceded by an advisement pursuant to Miranda v. Arizona , 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966). Since no such advisement was provided, the trial court suppressed a statement made by Cline.

¶2 We now reverse. We hold that the trial court applied the wrong legal standard. We further hold that, under the totality of the circumstances, a reasonable person in Cline’s position would not have considered himself deprived of his freedom of action to a degree associated with a formal arrest. We recognize that confronting Cline with the zippered pouch is a factor that weighs in favor of a finding of custody for purposes of Miranda . But we conclude that, when viewed in conjunction with the other circumstances present, it is insufficient to warrant a determination that Cline was in custody and that Corporal Laehr was required to read him his Miranda rights. Because the trial court applied the wrong legal standard and treated as dispositive the fact that Corporal Laehr confronted Cline with the zippered pouch, we reverse its suppression order and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

I. Facts and Procedural Background

¶3 Cline was placed on parole in an unrelated case in February 2017. As a condition of his parole, he agreed to allow his parole officer to search his residence at any time. At approximately 11 a.m. on December 10, 2018, Cline’s parole officer, Kevin Koopmann, went to Cline’s residence to conduct a home visit and search.¹ At Koopmann’s request, two members of the Craig Police Department, Corporal Laehr and Officer Josh Lyons, met him at the fourplex where Cline’s residence was located to assist with the search. After knocking on the door and contacting Cline, Koopmann explained the purpose of the visit and asked Cline to step outside; he used a professional, but firm, tone. Cline complied, at which point Koopmann patted him down for weapons and found none. Pursuant to Koopmann’s instructions, Cline remained outside with Officer Lyons while Koopmann and Corporal Laehr completed the search, which lasted approximately ninety minutes.

¶4 During the search, Officer Lyons and Cline engaged in "normal bantered conversation" outside the residence. The tone of the discussions was friendly throughout. Officer Lyons did not tell Cline he could not leave, and Cline and three other individuals located on the premises were able to move around in the parking area in front of the residence. At one point, Cline asked Officer Lyons if he could move to the sidewalk and stand in the sun because he was cold, and Officer Lyons did not prevent him from doing so. Officer Lyons, Cline, and the three other individuals then all walked over to the sidewalk. In light of the cold temperatures, Corporal Laehr retrieved a coat from inside the residence for Cline. At another point, Cline asked if he could go speak to an individual by the name of Kelly Nielsen, who was working on a truck parked on the side of the residence. Officer Lyons did not prohibit him from doing so, but asked if Nielsen could come to the area where Cline was instead.

¶5 Koopmann’s search focused on the room Cline identified as his bedroom. There, he found a zippered pouch containing a glass pipe and a small piece of straw with white powdery residue. Corporal Laehr performed a field test on the residue, which revealed that it was presumptively positive for methamphetamine. Given the preliminary indication of methamphetamine, he decided to question Cline about the zippered pouch and its contents in the parking area in front of Cline’s residence. It appears that neither Koopmann nor Officer Lyons was present during the interrogation, although both remained on the premises. Cline was not handcuffed or otherwise physically restrained, and Corporal Laehr used a conversational tone and did not draw his weapon or use any other show of force. Further, Cline did not appear upset; instead, he seemed to be calm and to understand the questions asked and the context of the conversation. And, as far as Corporal Laehr could tell, Cline was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

¶6 Corporal Laehr asked Cline three questions. First, he asked about the zippered pouch, and Cline denied it was his. Second, he asked about access to Cline’s bedroom, and Cline said that other people had access to the room, that a lot of people had been staying with him recently, and that someone else must have put the zippered pouch in the room; Cline reiterated that the zippered pouch was not his. Third, Corporal Laehr asked the question that gave rise to the statement suppressed by the trial court: When had Cline last used methamphetamine? Cline responded that it was two to three weeks earlier. At that point, Corporal Laehr informed Cline that he was under arrest for possession of a Schedule II controlled substance and placed him in handcuffs. Other than inquiring whether Cline had anything dangerous in his pockets, Corporal Laehr did not ask any other questions. Cline was not advised of his Miranda rights by anyone.

¶7 The prosecution subsequently charged Cline with drug-related offenses. Cline filed pretrial motions to suppress. As relevant here, he sought to exclude evidence of all his statements, arguing that they were obtained in violation of Miranda . Following an evidentiary hearing during which Koopmann, Corporal Laehr, and Officer Lyons testified, the trial court orally granted Cline’s request in part and denied it in part. The trial court first found that Corporal Laehr’s confrontation of Cline with the zippered pouch did not violate Miranda for two reasons: (1) Cline was "not under arrest" and "no reasonable person would have believed that they were under arrest" at that time; and (2) such confrontation did not constitute an interrogation for purposes of Miranda . However, the trial court then ruled as follows:

Corporal Laehr then went on to ask Mr. Cline a question, knowing that Mr. Cline had been confronted with what appeared to be illegal ... substances or illegal items. And asked him when is the last time you used ... methamphetamine or words to that effect. That question was designed to elicit an incriminating response and in fact did elicit an incriminating response. [Cline] responded that he last used methamphetamine two–three weeks prior. The Court finds that that question was asked after Mr. Cline was effectively under arrest and certainly not free to leave.... So the Court is going to suppress the statement about using methamphetamine two–three weeks ago.

¶8 It appears from the record that the trial court was under the misimpression that Corporal Laehr only asked Cline one question—regarding the last time Cline had used methamphetamine. Defense counsel attempted to alert the trial court to this issue, noting that the court seemed to "believe[ ] that [Corporal] Laehr did not ask a question about the item[ ] ... found in [Cline’s] room." She informed the court that Corporal Laehr in fact testified that he had questioned Cline about the zippered pouch found in the bedroom and that Cline had denied it was his and had then explained that there were other people with access to the bedroom. The trial court responded that it was "not sure what ... question" counsel was referring to, "but regardless," it had already concluded that Cline was not under arrest until "after he was confronted" with the zippered pouch. This response suggests that the trial court also misremembered that the two earlier questions were asked after Cline was confronted with the zippered pouch.

¶9 In a written order issued six days later, the trial court articulated its ruling again. It indicated that "once [Corporal] Laehr confronted [Cline] with the zippered pouch, a reasonable person in [Cline’s] position would not have believed he was free to leave" and would have believed he "was, in fact, under arrest, whether the magic words were spoken at that time or not." The trial court thus concluded that the question by Corporal Laehr about the last time Cline had used methamphetamine constituted a "custodial interrogation" and "should have been asked only after a Miranda advisement." Because no Miranda advisement was provided, the trial court suppressed Cline’s response. It did not suppress any of Cline’s earlier statements.²

¶10 The prosecution then brought this interlocutory appeal.³

II. Analysis

¶11 The prosecution argues that the trial court erred in finding that Cline was in custody for Miranda purposes when he made the suppressed statement. We agree.

¶12 We hold that the trial court applied the wrong legal standard. We...