People v. Wood
| Decision Date | 19 September 2017 |
| Docket Number | No. 331462,331462 |
| Citation | 910 N.W.2d 364,321 Mich.App. 415 |
| Parties | PEOPLE of the State of Michigan, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Charles William WOOD, Defendant-Appellee. |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Michigan — District of US |
Bill Schuette, Attorney General, Aaron D. Lindstrom, Solicitor General, Jessica R. Cooper, Prosecuting Attorney, Thomas R. Grden, Appellate Division Chief, and Louis F. Meizlish, Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, for the people.
Siferd Moise Law Group, PLLC (by Erica Moise) for defendant.
Before: Stephens, P.J., and K. F. Kelly and Murray, JJ.
The prosecutor appeals by right an order dismissing a charge of possession of a controlled substance (codeine), a violation of MCL 333.7403(2)(b)(ii). The dismissal was based on the circuit court’s earlier opinion and order that granted defendant’s motion to suppress evidence. Finding no errors warranting reversal, we affirm.
On March 14, 2015, Michigan State Police Trooper Everett Morris observed defendant traveling 83 miles per hour in a 70-miles-per-hour zone. Morris decided to conduct a traffic stop. Defendant was the lone occupant of the car. Morris testified that he 1 Morris observed about a dozen of the containers. He explained: "They caught my attention because I’ve dealt with them before where people use them and they huff ‘em for a temporary high." Morris confronted defendant about the canisters:
Morris unsuccessfully sought defendant’s consent to search the car. He nevertheless ordered defendant out of the car and searched it. In addition to the nitrous oxide whippets, Morris found a canister that can be used for inhaling nitrous oxide. Morris also found an empty bottle of codeine syrup with the name removed, as well as pill bottles with the names removed. Morris found six pills, which were determined to be codeine, located inside a jacket belonging to defendant. Morris was not concerned that defendant was actually intoxicated at the time, and he did not confiscate the whippets, the canister, or the empty medicine bottles.
On January 19, 2016, circuit court granted defendant’s motion to suppress the evidence but did not specifically grant or deny defendant’s motion to dismiss the case for lack of untainted evidence. The parties subsequently appeared before the court on January 21, 2016:
The circuit court entered an order that provided, "I hereby grant Defendant’s motion to dismiss the matter." The prosecution now appeals by right. In response, defendant argues that the appeal is moot.
Defendant argues that the prosecution’s actions have rendered this appeal moot in keeping with People v. Richmond , 486 Mich. 29, 782 N.W.2d 187 (2010). An appellate court reviews de novo whether an issue is moot. Garrett v. Washington , 314 Mich.App. 436, 449, 886 N.W.2d 762 (2016).
In Richmond , the circuit court granted the defendant’s motion to suppress the evidence because the affidavit supporting the search warrant was insufficient to establish probable cause. Richmond , 486 Mich. at 33, 782 N.W.2d 187 There, as here, the circuit court’s ruling resulted in the exclusion of all of the evidence against the defendant. Id . at 32–33, 782 N.W.2d 187. "The prosecutor then moved to voluntarily dismiss the case without prejudice, stating that ‘[g]iven the Court’s decision, it would make more sense for me to dismiss this case at this time since we are not able to go forward since the evidence has been suppressed.’ " Id. at 33, 782 N.W.2d 187 (alteration in original). The circuit court signed an order dismissing the case without prejudice " ‘on the motion of the People.’ " Id. The prosecutor then appealed the circuit court’s decision to suppress the evidence. Id. This Court reversed the circuit court’s order and remanded the case for reinstatement of the charges against the defendant. Id . On appeal in the Michigan Supreme Court, the defendant argued for the first time that the Court of Appeals should not have considered the prosecution’s appeal "because the issue was moot after the prosecution voluntarily obtained dismissal of the case." Id. The Supreme Court agreed and held "that the prosecution’s voluntary dismissal of the charges rendered its appeal moot and, because a court should not hear moot issues except in circumstances that are not applicable under the facts of this case, the Court of Appeals erred by reaching the substantive issues of the prosecution’s appeal." Id. at 34, 782 N.W.2d 187. The matter was moot because there was no actual controversy. The Court explained:
In this case, the prosecution’s own action clearly rendered its subsequent appeal moot. After the circuit court suppressed the evidence, the prosecution moved to dismiss the charges against defendant. As a result of the prosecution’s voluntarily seeking dismissal of the charges, the circuit court dismissed the charges without prejudice and any existing controversy between the parties was rendered moot. Once the charges were dismissed, an action no longer existed, and, thus, there was no longer any controversy left for the Court of Appeals to consider. Accordingly, because all the charges against defendant had been dismissed at the time of the prosecution’s appeal, the Court of Appeals judgment was based on a pretended controversy that did not rest upon existing facts or rights. Because a court cannot tender advice on matters that are no longer in litigation, the Court of Appeals made a determination on a mere barren right—a purely moot question, which, under this Court’s precedent, it did not have the power to decide. [ Id. at 35–36, 782 N.W.2d 187 (quotation marks and citations omitted).]
We decline defendant’s invitation to extend the Richmond rule to situations in which the prosecution does not specifically seek to dismiss the case. The Court’s focus in Richmond was clearly on the prosecution’s actions. In this case, the prosecution did not seek a dismissal. The order clearly states that it was defendant’s motion. This case is distinguishable from Richmond because it does not involve a voluntary dismissal by the prosecution. Instead, defendant requested that the circuit court dismiss the charges as part of the motion to suppress.
The prosecution argues that Morris had probable cause to search defendant’s vehicle under the automobile exception based on defendant’s admission that he committed the crime of inhaling a chemical agent, MCL 752.272, and based on Morris’s observation of several nitrous oxide canisters and pill bottles on the vehicle’s floorboard. The prosecution further argues that there was probable cause to arrest defendant for inhaling nitrous oxide, which would have triggered an inventory search of the vehicle and would have led to the inevitable discovery of the codeine pills. "We review de novo the circuit court’s ultimate ruling on a motion to suppress evidence." People v. Barbarich , 291 Mich.App. 468, 471, 807 N.W.2d 56 (2011).
The circuit court properly suppressed the evidence seized because it was the result of an unlawful search. Our Court has stated:
"Probable cause exists when the facts and circumstances known to the police officers at the time of the search would lead a reasonably prudent person to believe that a crime has been or is being committed and that evidence will be found in a particular place." People v. Beuschlein , 245 Mich.App. 744, 750, 630 N.W.2d 921 (2001).
"An exception to the warrant requirement exists for searches of automobiles." People v. Levine , 461 Mich. 172, 179, 600 N.W.2d 622 (1999). Once again, however, "[t]he exception applies only to searches supported by probable cause." Id. "The determination whether probable cause exists to support a search, including a...
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People v. Mansour
...oxide. These cannisters are known as "whippets" and their contents can be inhaled for their intoxicating effect. See People v Wood, 321 Mich.App. 415, 418 & n 1; 910 N.W.2d 364 (2017), rev'd on other grounds 503 Mich. 981 (2019). [3] This Court has noted that the term "prosecutorial miscond......