People v. Jackson

• Decision Date: 28 January 2002
• Docket Number: No. 00SC688.,00SC688.
• Citation: 39 P.3d 1174
• Parties: The PEOPLE of the State of Colorado, Petitioner, v. Derek Lavan JACKSON, Respondent.
• Court: Colorado Supreme Court

39 P.3d 1174

The PEOPLE of the State of Colorado, Petitioner, v. Derek Lavan JACKSON, Respondent.

No. 00SC688.

Supreme Court of Colorado, En Banc.

January 28, 2002.

Ken Salazar, Attorney General, Elizabeth Rohrbough, Assistant Attorney General, Appellate Division Criminal Justice Section, Denver, CO, Attorney for Petitioner.

Cynthia Sheehan, Denver, CO, Attorney for Respondent.

Justice RICE delivered the Opinion of the Court.

We granted certiorari to review the court of appeals' judgment in People v. Jackson, 13 P.3d 838 (Colo.App.2000).¹

Defendant was a passenger in a car that was lawfully stopped for a traffic violation. The driver of the car produced a valid driver's license, registration, and proof of insurance. The police officer conducting the stop also requested Defendant's identification. The only reason for this request was that Defendant was a passenger in the car; the police officer did not suspect that Defendant was engaged in any criminal activity. Then, instead of returning Defendant's identification, the police officer instructed Defendant to remain in the car while he ran his identification for warrants.

The court of appeals held that requesting Defendant's identification without reasonable suspicion constituted a seizure in violation of the Fourth Amendment. Jackson, 13 P.3d at 843. We disagree. Our precedent makes clear that, "A request for identification by the police does not, by itself, constitute a Fourth Amendment seizure." People v. Paynter, 955 P.2d 68, 70 (Colo.1998); accord Immigration & Naturalization Serv. v. Delgado, 466 U.S. 210, 216, 104 S.Ct. 1758, 80 L.Ed.2d 247 (1984). The fact that Defendant was a passenger in a car stopped for a traffic violation does not alter this conclusion. "The detention of the passengers in a stopped vehicle is merely coincidental with the detention of the driver." People v. H.J., 931 P.2d 1177, 1181 (Colo.1997). Thus, in this case, the police officer's request for identification did not implicate the Fourth Amendment. The officer's request merely initiated a consensual encounter, and therefore, Defendant was free to either ignore or decline the request.

However, when the officer retained Defendant's identification and instructed him to remain in the car while running the identification for warrants, what began as a consensual encounter escalated into an investigatory stop needing reasonable suspicion to justify it. Because the officer lacked the reasonable suspicion necessary to justify an investigatory stop, ordering Defendant to stay in the car while retaining his identification constituted a violation of Defendant's Fourth Amendment rights. Accordingly, we reverse in part and affirm in part.

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On October 24, 1997 at approximately 1:27 a.m., Defendant, Derek Lavan Jackson, was a passenger in a car being driven eastbound on Colfax Avenue. Officer Brant Harrold was on routine patrol heading westbound on Colfax. He observed that the car had only its parking lights on, not its headlights as required. See § 42-4-204, 11 C.R.S. (2001). Officer Harrold therefore signaled the vehicle to stop by turning on the overhead lights on his patrol car. The driver pulled the vehicle to the side of the road. Officer Harrold turned on his spotlight, aimed it at the driver's side-view mirror, and approached the driver's side of the car. After telling the driver why he had had been stopped, Officer Harrold requested to see the driver's license, registration, and proof of insurance. Still located on the driver's side of the car, Officer Harrold also asked Defendant if he had identification. Defendant said that he did and provided it to Officer Harrold.

Officer Harrold testified that the only reason he asked to see Defendant's identification is that Defendant happened to be a passenger in a car stopped for a traffic infraction. Defendant did not make any furtive gestures nor did Officer Harrold suspect that the vehicle had been stolen or involved in any crime other than the traffic infraction. Thus, Officer Harrold testified that he had no reason to believe that Defendant was armed or involved in any criminal activity whatsoever. Indeed, the trial court expressly found that Officer Harrold would have let Defendant leave the car and be on his way had he desired to do so. (R. at vol. IV, p. 19.)

At both the suppression hearing and at Defendant's trial, Officer Harrold testified that he requests passengers' identification as a matter of routine procedure and that his tone was conversational throughout his encounter with Defendant. Officer Harrold did not display a gun or weapon of any type and did not indicate in any way that Defendant was required to comply with his request for identification. In fact, the trial court found credible Officer Harrold's testimony that had Defendant declined the request compliance would not have been required. (R. at vol. IV, p. 19-20.)

After obtaining their identification cards, Officer Harrold told Defendant and the driver, "[H]ang tight in the car, I'll be back with you in a minute." (R. at vol. IV, p. 9.) He then took their identification cards back to his patrol car and performed "a routine clearance check." (Id. at 5.) Officer Harrold testified that the purpose of this check was to ensure that the driver had a valid license and to see if either occupant had active warrants for their arrest. The check revealed that Defendant had three outstanding traffic warrants. Accordingly, Officer Harrold placed Defendant under custodial arrest. Approximately ten to fifteen minutes elapsed between the time Officer Harrold first contacted Defendant and when Defendant was taken into custody.

Subsequently, Officer Harrold transported Defendant to the Aurora City Jail in his patrol car. During the intake procedure, Officer Harrold discovered two small pieces of crack cocaine weighing .098 grams in Defendant's jacket. Defendant was later charged with possession of a controlled substance.

Defendant moved the trial court to suppress the cocaine seized from him as well as statements he had made to officers after his arrest as fruits of an illegal seizure. Viewing Officer Harrold's request for identification and Defendant's compliance therewith as a consensual encounter, the trial court denied this motion. Ultimately, the jury convicted Defendant of the charge, and Defendant appealed. The court of appeals reversed, holding that Officer Harrold violated Defendant's Fourth Amendment rights by asking for his identification without reasonable suspicion that he was engaged in criminal activity. We granted certiorari to consider whether police officers must always have reasonable suspicion in order to question passengers of a stopped vehicle, or whether under some circumstances such questioning should be viewed as a consensual interview.

II. ANALYSIS

The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that the people shall "be secure in their ... persons against unreasonable searches and seizures." U.S. Const. amend. IV. It is enforceable against the states through the Fourteenth Amendment. Colorado v. Bannister, 449 U.S. 1, 2, 101 S.Ct. 42, 66 L.Ed.2d 1 (1980). "The Fourth Amendment does not proscribe all contact between police and citizens, but is designed `to prevent arbitrary and oppressive interference with the privacy and personal security of individuals.'" Delgado, 466 U.S. at 215, 104 S.Ct. 1758 (quoting United States v. Martinez-Fuerte, 428 U.S. 543, 554, 96 S.Ct. 3074, 49 L.Ed.2d 1116 (1976)); accord Paynter, 955 P.2d at 71. The "touchstone of the Fourth Amendment is reasonableness." Ohio v. Robinette, 519 U.S. 33, 39, 117 S.Ct. 417, 136 L.Ed.2d 347 (1996). "Reasonableness... is measured in objective terms by examining the totality of the circumstances." Id. In applying this test, both this court and the United States Supreme Court have eschewed bright line rules, instead emphasizing the fact-specific nature of the reasonableness inquiry. Id.; Outlaw v. People, 17 P.3d 150, 155, 156 (Colo.2001) ("A totality of the circumstances analysis requires an examination of the behavior of the parties, as well as the physical, temporal, and social context of the encounter."); Paynter, 955 P.2d at 72-73.

Following the lead of the United States Supreme Court, Colorado has recognized three categories of police-citizen encounters: (1) arrests; (2) investigatory stops; and (3) consensual interviews. Paynter, 955 P.2d at 72; People v. Morales, 935 P.2d 936, 939 (Colo.1997). Arrests and investigatory stops are seizures and thus implicate the Fourth Amendment. People v. Morales, 935 P.2d 936, 939 (Colo.1997). They must therefore be justified by probable cause and reasonable suspicion respectively. Consensual encounters, on the other hand, are not seizures. People v. Thomas, 839 P.2d 1174, 1177 (Colo.1992). Instead, they are requests for cooperation, and because the Fourth Amendment proscribes only unreasonable searches and seizures, not voluntary cooperation, Florida v. Bostick, 501 U.S. 429, 439, 111 S.Ct. 2382, 115 L.Ed.2d 389 (1991), consensual encounters do not implicate the Fourth Amendment. Id. Thus, the boundary between consensual encounters and investigatory stops is crucial because it defines where the protection of the Fourth Amendment begins. We begin our analysis by reviewing the precedent from both the United States Supreme Court and this court that discusses the distinction between consensual encounters and investigatory stops. With this framework in mind, we then consider whether — and if so at what point—the encounter between Officer Harrold and Defendant rose to the level of an investigatory stop. Specifically, we analyze whether any of the following events occurring that evening constituted an unconstitutional seizure of the Defendant: (1) the stop of the vehicle; (2) the request for Defendant's identification; and (3) the retention of Defendant's identification coupled with Officer...