Scott v. State
| Decision Date | 28 February 2002 |
| Docket Number | No. CR 00-1373.,CR 00-1373. |
| Citation | 67 S.W.3d 567,347 Ark. 767 |
| Parties | John T. SCOTT v. STATE of Arkansas. |
| Court | Arkansas Supreme Court |
McDaniel & Wells, P.A., by: Bill Stanley, Jonesboro, for appellant.
Mark Pryor, Att'y Gen., by: Lauren Elizabeth Heil, Ass't Att'y Gen., Little Rock, for appellee.
Appellant John T. Scott was charged with manufacturing a controlled substance (methamphetamine), attempt to manufacture a controlled substance (methamphetamine), and possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to manufacture methamphetamine. Mr. Scott contended below that the search of his home was unlawful and that evidence seized as a result of the search should be suppressed. The trial court denied the motion to suppress, and Mr. Scott entered a conditional plea of guilty to possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to manufacture methamphetamine pursuant to Ark. R.Crim. P. 24.3(b), reserving the right to appeal the trial court's suppression ruling. Mr. Scott was sentenced to twenty-four months in the Arkansas Department of Correction, followed by five years' suspended imposition of sentence. He now appeals the trial court's ruling on his motion to suppress. We affirm.
At the suppression hearing, Deputy Sheriff Robert Rounsavall of the Mississippi County Sheriff's Department testified that he received a tip from an anonymous caller, as well as calls from the Arkansas State Police and the Leachville Police Department, indicating that Mr. Scott was manufacturing methamphetamine in his home. All three calls were received "within a few weeks" of January 12, 2000. Deputy Rounsavall enlisted the assistance of two other law enforcement officers, Investigator Danny Foster and Sergeant Reggie Moore. The officers agreed that they did not have enough information to get a search warrant, but they hoped to get consent to search the Scott residence. As a result, all three officers approached the Scott residence on the afternoon of January 12, 2000. According to the police report, the officers arrived at the home at 2:35 p.m. Deputy Rounsavall indicated this was an approximate time of arrival based on his recollection of looking at his watch as the officers "headed to the residence from Leachville." Before the officers got out of their truck, they decided that Investigator Foster and Sergeant Moore would go up to the front porch of the house and knock on the door. Meanwhile, Deputy Rounsavall was to go "beside the house and watch the side and the back of the house ... [for] an officer-safety issue...." All three officers were in plain clothes, wearing badges around their necks and carrying handguns.
After the officers knocked, Mr. Scott yelled, "Who is it?" Investigator Foster responded that it was the police, and, a few moments later, Mr. Scott came to the door. Sergeant Moore testified that Mr. Scott opened the door, but there was still a screen door between them and Mr. Scott. According to Mr. Scott, he opened both the wooden door and the screen door. Mr. Scott also testified that, when he opened the door, all three officers were on his front porch, and he put one of his hands on the door facing, causing all three officers to reach for their guns. However, this testimony was disputed by the officers who denied reaching for their guns when Mr. Scott opened the door. Investigator Foster told Mr. Scott they had information that he might be cooking methamphetamine in his residence and asked him if the officers could search the residence.1 Mr. Scott denied that he was making methamphetamine and gave the officers verbal consent to search his residence and the grounds. The officers did not initially tell Mr. Scott that he had a right to refuse consent or a right to make them get a search warrant. Mr. Scott claims Investigator Foster told him that, if he did not consent to a search they would get a search warrant and confiscate all of his property. All three officers, however, denied making any such statement.
According to Investigator Foster, he went back to the vehicle to get a "Consent to Search" form after obtaining Mr. Scott's verbal consent; whereas, Sergeant Moore testified that he believed Investigator Foster had the consent form with him when they arrived at the porch. The officers' testimony was also inconsistent with respect to whether Deputy Rounsavall could hear what was being said on the porch. Nonetheless, all three officers agreed that Investigator Foster had informed Deputy Rounsavall that Mr. Scott had verbally consented to the search before the deputy walked from the driveway to the back of the house where he noticed several tanks with a turquoise-blue color around the fittings. That color, according to Deputy Rounsavall, indicated the tanks were being used for anhydrous ammonia. He then walked back around to the front of the house, where Investigator Foster was reading the written consent form to Mr. Scott. It was at this point that Mr. Scott was advised of his right to refuse consent. Though Mr. Scott testified to initially telling the officers he did not want to sign the form, the officers maintained that Mr. Scott never denied consent. In fact, he signed the written consent form at 2:50 p.m., whereupon Deputy Rounsavall advised him that he was under arrest and read him the standard Miranda warnings. Mr. Scott then told the officers they could find the methamphetamine lab in the attic, purportedly because he did not want them to tear up his house.
Based upon the evidence introduced at the suppression hearing and arguments of counsel, the trial court denied the motion to suppress. In its order, the court made the following findings:
1. That officers proceeded to the home of the defendant based upon an anonymous tip and such information did not result in the officers having a reasonable suspicion or probable cause that the defendant was involved in criminal activity.
2. That the officers in acting upon the tip had a consensual contact with the defendant and the Court hereby finds that the initial encounter occurred when the officers knocked on the defendant's door and the defendant promptly responded; the Court further finds that the officers did not engage in conduct that was threatening or that in any manner reflected a showing of force. That the officers' contact with the defendant was of a consensual nature and such contact did not constitute a seizure so as to implicate the Fourth Amendment.
3. That the State has met its burden of proof in establishing by clear and positive evidence that the defendant consented to search of his premises.
In reviewing a ruling denying a defendant's motion to suppress, we make an independent determination, based on the totality of the circumstances, and view the evidence in the light most favorable to the State. Travis v. State, 331 Ark. 7, 959 S.W.2d 32 (1998). We reverse only if the trial court's ruling is clearly against the preponderance of the evidence. Id. We defer to the trial court in assessing the credibility of witnesses. Laime v. State, 347 Ark. 142, 60 S.W.3d 464 (2001).
Mr. Scott's first contention on appeal is that the officers had no reasonable suspicion to contact him and that the initial contact constituted an illegal seizure in violation of his rights under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, thereby negating the subsequent consent and search as "fruits of the poisonous tree."2 He claims that, once he answered the door, he did not feel free to terminate his encounter with the police. The State argues that Mr. Scott's encounter with the police was voluntary, pointing out that Mr. Scott verbally consented to the search and signed a consent-to-search form. The State contends that a "knock and talk" procedure is not a seizure under the Fourth Amendment, and, therefore, a reasonable suspicion is not required.
A law enforcement officer may request any person to furnish information or otherwise cooperate in the investigation or prevention of crime. Ark. R.Crim. P. 2.2(a) (2001). The officer may request the person to respond to questions or to comply with any other reasonable request. Id. In making such a request, no officer shall indicate that a person is legally obligated to furnish information or cooperate if no legal obligation exists. Ark. R.Crim. P. 2.2(b) (2001). Compliance with such requests shall not be regarded as involuntary or coerced solely on the ground that such a request was made by a law enforcement officer. Id.
This court has interpreted Rule 2.2 to provide that an officer may approach a citizen much in the same way a citizen may approach another citizen and request aid or information. State v. McFadden, 327 Ark. 16, 938 S.W.2d 797 (1997); Thompson v. State, 303 Ark. 407, 797 S.W.2d 450 (1990). Not all personal intercourse between policemen and citizens involves "seizures" of persons under the Fourth Amendment. Id. A "seizure" of a person occurs when an officer, by means of physical force or show of authority, has in some way restrained the liberty of a citizen. See Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968).
Police-citizen encounters have been classified into three categories. State v. McFadden, 327 Ark. 16, 938 S.W.2d 797.
The first and least intrusive category is when an officer merely approaches an individual on a street and asks if he is willing to answer some questions. Because the encounter is in a public place and is consensual, it does not constitute a "seizure" within the meaning of the fourth amendment. The second police encounter is when the officer may justifiably restrain an individual for a short period of time if they have an "articulable suspicion" that the person has committed or is about to commit a crime. The initially consensual encounter is transformed into a seizure when, considering all the circumstances, a reasonable person would believe that he is not free to leave. The final category is the full-scale arrest, which must be based...
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