Racz v. State
| Decision Date | 12 February 1986 |
| Docket Number | No. 85-114,85-114 |
| Citation | 11 Fla. L. Weekly 399,486 So.2d 3 |
| Parties | 11 Fla. L. Weekly 399 Miklos RACZ, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Joseph Beeler, of Joseph Beeler, P.A., Miami, for appellant.
Jim Smith, Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, and Eddie J. Bell, Asst. Atty. Gen., West Palm Beach, for appellee.
We affirm appellant's conviction and the trial court's denial of appellant's motion to suppress. We affirm because we believe there is competent substantial evidence in the record to support the trial court's findings as to the issue of consent to search and as to the nature of the encounter between appellant and the police. Jordan v. State, 384 So.2d 277 (Fla. 4th DCA 1980).
Notwithstanding our affirmance we would caution trial courts to look closely at claims by the police that no detention is involved when they encounter a citizen, identify themselves as police officers and ask for identification. In our view it is the rare citizen who would conclude that he has no legal obligation to cooperate with the police under those circumstances. Similarly, we agree that trial courts are obligated to uphold searches made pursuant to voluntary consent even when the person searched is claimed to have illogically acted completely contrary to his own interests in freely consenting to a search that immediately yields contraband. However, as the case law has repeatedly emphasized, claims of voluntary consent to search should be closely scrutinized and upheld only where established by clear and convincing evidence. Jordan v. State.
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Alvarez v. State
...and the reasonable likelihood of a person consenting to a search that the person knows will reveal contraband. See Racz v. State, 486 So.2d 3 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986). Absent any improper police conduct prior to securing an alleged consent, the consent issue should be determined by the greater w......
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Elsleger v. State, 4-86-1026
...case, citing Jordan v. State, 384 So.2d 277 (Fla. 4th DCA 1980); Leonard v. State, 431 So.2d 614 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983), and Racz v. State, 486 So.2d 3 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986). In Jordan, this court A search is valid if consent thereto is freely and voluntarily given. Jackson v. State, 132 So.2d 5......