Ratliff v. State

• Decision Date: 23 July 2001
• Docket Number: No. 49A02-0010-CR-677.,49A02-0010-CR-677.
• Citation: 753 N.E.2d 38
• Parties: Jason RATLIFF, Appellant-Defendant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff.
• Court: Indiana Appellate Court

753 N.E.2d 38

Jason RATLIFF, Appellant-Defendant, v. STATE of Indiana, Appellee-Plaintiff.

No. 49A02-0010-CR-677.

Court of Appeals of Indiana.

July 23, 2001.

Rehearing Denied September 27, 2001.

Robert W. Hammerle, Joseph M. Cleary, Hammerle & Allen, Indianapolis, IN, Attorneys for Appellant.

Karen M. Freeman-Wilson, Attorney General of Indiana, Grant H. Carlton, Deputy Attorney General, Indianapolis, IN, Attorneys for Appellee.

OPINION

RILEY, Judge.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

Appellant-Defendant, Jason Ratliff (Ratliff), brings this interlocutory appeal following the trial court's denial of his motion to suppress the evidence obtained as a result of his arrest for dealing in a schedule IV controlled substance, a Class C felony, Ind.Code § 35-48-4-3; possession of a controlled substance, a Class D felony, Ind.Code § 35-48-4-7; and resisting law enforcement, a Class D felony, Ind.Code § 35-44-3-3.

We reverse and remand for further proceedings in accordance with this opinion.

ISSUE

On appeal, Ratliff raises one issue for our review, which we restate as: whether the trial court properly denied his motion to suppress, by finding that the warrantless search of Ratliff's vehicle, thereby revealing evidence of dealing in drugs, was proper under the automobile exception to the warrant requirement.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On October 16, 1999, officers from the Louisiana State Police Department stopped a vehicle with occupants identified as Roberto Hernandez and Claudia Ortega. Hernandez, the driver, consented to a search of the vehicle, revealing approximately sixty-four thousand doses of valium.

Upon further investigation, the Louisiana police officers discovered that Hernandez and Ortega were intending to deliver the valium to Jason Ratliff in Indianapolis, Indiana. During an interview, Hernandez informed detectives of the Indiana State Police Drug Enforcement Section that Ratliff was to pay him an unspecified amount of money for delivering the drugs to him. Hernandez further informed the detectives that upon arriving in Indianapolis, he and Ortega were to contact Ratliff to make further arrangements for the drug transaction. Hernandez and Ortega agreed with the Louisiana State Police and Indiana State police to cooperate and continue the investigation in Indianapolis, Indiana.

On October 17, 1999, detectives from the Indiana State Police began conducting an investigation of Ratliff's drug trafficking activities in Indianapolis, Indiana. Thereafter, the police secured a room in a Motel 6 in Indianapolis in order to carry out a controlled buy from Ratliff. Hernandez contacted Ratliff telephonically, and they agreed to conduct the drug transaction at the Motel 6. That same day, Ratliff arrived at the Motel 6 in a pick-up truck. Hernandez delivered a black sports bag containing the valium to Ratliff. Ratliff placed the sports bag containing the valium in his vehicle. However, Ratliff told Hernandez that he did not have the money he had promised him and would have to return to make payment. At this point, uniformed officers approached Ratliff's vehicle in an attempt to arrest Ratliff. However, when the uniformed officers identified themselves and ordered Ratliff to stop his vehicle, Ratliff attempted to flee from the officers by recklessly driving his vehicle, and in so doing crashed into another vehicle. Ratliff was then apprehended and the detective in charge of the controlled buy secured the sports bag from Ratliff's vehicle containing the valium.

Following Ratliff's arrest, an officer drove Ratliff's vehicle to a secure police facility to inventory the vehicle. However, once at the facility, a police officer began a warrantless search of the vehicle. During the warrantless search, the officer discovered a suitcase bearing the name of "Sandra Anderson" and an Indianapolis address. (R. 102).

At this point, the officer conducting the warrantless search of Ratliff's vehicle contacted a Marion County Deputy Prosecutor who advised him that the suitcase could be opened without a warrant. The suitcase was opened and revealed $30,100.02.

On October 17, 1999, the Indiana State Police ultimately charged Ratliff with dealing in and possession of large quantities of valium, a schedule IV controlled drug.

On February 18, 2000, Ratliff filed a Motion to Suppress the evidence retrieved from his vehicle.

On July 17, 2000, the trial court held a hearing on Ratliff's Motion to Suppress and ordered the submission of briefs.

On August 31, 2000, the trial court denied Ratliff's Motion to Suppress, finding that the warrantless search of Ratliff's vehicle was proper under the automobile exception to the warrant requirement.

On October 2, 2000, Ratliff filed a Motion to Certify Denial of Motion to Suppress for Interlocutory Appeal. The trial court granted Ratliff's motion and this interlocutory appeal ensued.

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

Ratliff contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress the evidence of dealing in a controlled substance that the police discovered while conducting a warrantless search of his vehicle at the police station. Specifically, Ratliff argues that the warrantless search of his vehicle was a violation of the Fourth Amendment because the automobile exception to the warrant requirement was inapplicable. Essentially, Ratliff claims that because no exigent circumstances existed and his vehicle had been impounded and moved to a secure police facility, it was not impracticable for the police to obtain a search warrant to search his vehicle and the suitcase located within his vehicle. The State counters that the warrantless search of Ratliff's vehicle was justified under the automobile exception to the warrant requirement because the police had probable cause to search his vehicle.

The trial court is afforded broad discretion in ruling on the admissibility of evidence, and we will reverse such a ruling only upon a showing of abuse of discretion. Smoote v. State, 708 N.E.2d 1, 3 (Ind. 1999); Pinkney v. State, 742 N.E.2d 956, 959 (Ind.Ct.App.2001), trans. denied. Additionally, a trial court's decision to deny a motion to suppress is reviewed as a matter of sufficiency, and the record must disclose substantial evidence of probative value that supports the trial court's decision. Taylor v. State, 689 N.E.2d 699, 702 (Ind. 1997). Consequently, we neither reweigh the evidence nor judge the credibility of witnesses. Id.; Pinkney, 742 N.E.2d at 959

.

The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution, made applicable to the states by the Fourteenth Amendment, protects persons from unreasonable government intrusions into areas of an individual's life in which he has a reasonable expectation of privacy. State v. Friedel, 714 N.E.2d 1231, 1237 (Ind.Ct.App.1999). Specifically, the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution provides:

The right of people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons or things to be seized.

"`The fundamental purpose of the Fourth Amendment is to protect the legitimate expectations of privacy that citizens possess in their persons, their homes and their belongings.'" Friedel, 714 N.E.2d at 1237 (citing People v. James, 163 Ill.2d 302, 206 Ill.Dec. 190, 645 N.E.2d 195, 197-98 (1994) (citing Ybarra v. Illinois, 444 U.S. 85, 91, 100 S.Ct. 338, 342, 62 L.Ed.2d 238, 245 (1979))).

Generally, a search warrant is a prerequisite to a constitutionally proper search and seizure. Sweeney v. State, 704 N.E.2d 86, 107 (Ind.1998), cert. denied. In cases involving a warrantless search, the State bears the burden of proving an exception to the warrant requirement. Id.; State v. Joe, 693 N.E.2d 573, 575 (Ind.Ct. App.1998), trans. denied. Moreover, searches conducted outside the judicial process, without prior approval by a judge or magistrate, are per se unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment-subject to only a "few specifically established and well-delineated exceptions." California v. Acevedo, 500 U.S. 565, 580, 111 S.Ct. 1982, 1991, 114 L.Ed.2d 619 (1991).

An exception to the warrant requirement has been recognized in certain cases for automobiles. The automobile exception was first recognized in Carroll v. United States, 267 U.S. 132, 45 S.Ct. 280, 69 L.Ed. 543 (1925). In that case, the United States Supreme Court questioned the admissibility of contraband liquor seized in a warrantless search of a car on the highway. In upholding the warrantless search of the car, the Court recognized the practical difficulty inherent in securing warrants to search movable conveyances. The court then set out the circumstances under which a warrantless search of a movable conveyance may be made and stressed that a warrant must be used where it is reasonably practicable:

[T]hose lawfully within the country, entitled to use the public highways, have a right to free passage without interruption or search unless there is known to a competent official authorized to search, probable cause for believing that their vehicles are carrying contraband or illegal merchandise.... Such a rule fulfills the guaranty of the Fourth Amendment. In cases where securing a warrant is reasonably practicable, it must be used, and when properly supported by affidavit and issued after judicial approval protects the seizing officer against a suit for damages. In cases where seizure is impossible except without a warrant, the seizing officer acts unlawfully and at his peril unless he can show the court probable cause.

Green v. State, 647 N.E.2d 694, 695-696 (Ind.Ct.App.1995) (quoting Carroll, 267 U.S. at 154, 156, 45 S.Ct. at 285, 286).

Subsequently, the U.S. Supreme Court explained the "impracticability" limitation set forth in Carroll:

Only in exigent

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