State v. Arrington, 122A84

• Decision Date: 28 August 1984
• Docket Number: No. 122A84,122A84
• Citation: 311 N.C. 633,319 S.E.2d 254
• Parties: STATE of North Carolina v. Charles ARRINGTON.
• Court: North Carolina Supreme Court

Page 254

319 S.E.2d 254

311 N.C. 633

STATE of North Carolina v. Charles ARRINGTON.

No. 122A84.

Supreme Court of North Carolina.

Aug. 28, 1984.

Rufus L. Edmisten, Atty. Gen. by Newton G. Pritchett, Jr., Associate Atty., Raleigh, for the State.

Stephen A. Graves, Washington, for defendant-appellee.

MITCHELL, Justice.

The issue presented is whether an affidavit detailing the tips of confidential informants to police provided a sufficient basis to support the magistrate's finding of probable cause. We hold that there was a substantial basis for finding probable cause and issuing a search warrant, and we reverse the Court of Appeals' decision affirming the order of the trial court to the contrary.

On March 14, 1982 Beaufort, County A.B.C. Enforcement Officer William Boyd applied for a warrant to search the mobile home and truck of the defendant Charles Arrington for controlled substances. In an affidavit included in the application, Officer Boyd swore to the following:

I received from a confidential source within the last forty-eight (48) hours that Charles Arrington had in his possession at his mobile home marijuana for sale. Confidential source advised that they had purchased marijuana from Charles Arrington. Source also advised that Arrington was growing marijuana in his home. A second confidential source advised that within the last twenty-four hours that there had been a steady flow of traffic to the Arrington home and also a steady flow of traffic for the past 2 months. The traffic is known to source as people that use drugs. The first source and second source has proven to be reliable in the past in that the first source has given information on numerous occasions in the past that has led to arrests. The second source has proven to be reliable in that I have known this source for many years and that they have furnished information not only to me but to other law enforcement officers that has proven to be reliable and arrests have been made.

Magistrate K.V. Swindell issued a search warrant on May 14, 1982. On the same day Officer Boyd searched the mobile home of the defendant and found thirty-six manila envelopes containing marijuana, three plastic bags of marijuana, thirteen packs of rolling paper and a bag containing marijuana residue. The defendant was arrested and indicted for felonious possession of more than an ounce of marijuana.

On June 14, 1982, the defendant moved pursuant to N.C.G.S. 15A-974 to suppress evidence obtained as the result of the execution of the search warrant. At the October 11, 1982 Criminal Session of Superior Court, Beaufort County, Judge Bruce heard the motion and entered an order suppressing the evidence. The findings and conclusions supporting the order stated that the affidavit included with the application for a search warrant was insufficient to show probable cause because it showed "no circumstances from which it could be determined that the information known to Officer Boyd came to him from the personal knowledge of a reliable confidential source." The State gave notice of appeal in open court and later certified that the evidence suppressed was essential to the case and that appeal was not taken merely for the purpose of delay.

The Court of Appeals affirmed the order of the trial court and held that considering the totality of the circumstances, the "stale, unverified, and uncorroborated allegations" of the officer in the affidavit gave the magistrate no basis for finding probable cause. 66 N.C.App. at 220, 311 S.E.2d at 36. Judge Braswell dissented, reasoning that the majority's analysis was based on a standard which had been rejected and abandoned by the United States Supreme Court in Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 76 L.Ed.2d 527 (1983). Judge Braswell's position was that considering the totality of the circumstances, the trial court erred in suppressing evidence seized pursuant to the search warrant.

An understanding of certain principles governing the issuance of search warrants is necessary for discussion of this issue. In North Carolina an applicant for a search warrant must complete an application in writing containing:

(1) The name and title of the applicant; and

(2) A statement that there is probable cause to believe that items subject to seizure under G.S. 15A-242 may be found in or upon a designated or described place, vehicle, or person; and

(3) Allegations of fact supporting the statement. The statements must be supported by one or more affidavits particularly setting forth the facts and circumstances establishing probable cause to believe that the items are in the places or in the possession of the individuals to be searched; and

(4) A request that the court issue a search warrant directing a search for and the seizure of the items in question.

N.C.G.S. 15A-244. The affidavit is sufficient if it supplies reasonable cause to believe that the proposed search for evidence probably will reveal the presence upon the described premises of the items sought and that those items will aid in the apprehension or conviction of the offender. State v. Riddick, 291 N.C. 399, 230 S.E.2d 506 (1976). Probable cause does not mean actual and positive cause nor import absolute certainty. State v. Campbell, 282 N.C. 125, 191 S.E.2d 752 (1972). The facts set forth in an affidavit for a search warrant must be such that a reasonably discreet and prudent person would rely upon them before they will be held to provide probable cause justifying the issuance of a search warrant. Dumbra v. United States, 268 U.S. 435, 45 S.Ct. 546, 69 L.Ed. 1032 (1925); State v. Campbell, 282 N.C. 125, 191 S.E.2d 752. A determination of probable cause is grounded in practical considerations. Jaben v. United States, 381 U.S. 214, 85 S.Ct. 1365, 14 L.Ed.2d 345 (1965).

The Supreme Court of the United States in recent years has relied upon a "two-pronged" test for determining the sufficiency of affidavits based on informant hearsay to establish probable cause for Fourth Amendment purposes. In Aguilar v. Texas, 378 U.S. 108, 84 S.Ct. 1509, 12 L.Ed.2d 723 (1964), the Court stated that although an affiant may rely on hearsay information in his or her application for a warrant, the magistrate must be informed of some of the circumstances from which the informant concluded that the evidence sought was where it was claimed to be. The magistrate also must be informed of some of the underlying circumstances showing that the informant was credible or the information reliable. Aguilar v. Texas, 378 U.S. at 114-15, 84 S.Ct. at 1513-1514.

In Spinelli v. United States, 393 U.S. 410, 89 S.Ct. 584, 21 L.Ed.2d 637 (1969) the Supreme Court elaborated on Aguilar and reiterated that to establish probable cause, hearsay information must satisfy the "two-pronged" test. The Court also indicated that it was important that a tip contain sufficient detail to enable a magistrate to conclude that he was relying on something more substantial than "a casual rumor circulating in the underworld" before he could find probable cause. 393 U.S. at 416, 89 S.Ct. at 589. This Court also has applied the two-pronged test. E.g. State v. Hayes, 291 N.C. 293, 230 S.E.2d 146 (1976); State v. Campbell, 282 N.C. 125, 191 S.E.2d 752 (1972).

In 1983 the Supreme Court of the United States undertook a reexamination of principles surrounding the sufficiency of informants' tips to supply probable cause. In Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 76 L.Ed.2d 527 (1983) the Court expressly abandoned the two-pronged test of Aguilar and Spinelli and adopted a "totality of circumstances test."

In Gates the police department received an anonymous letter stating that the defendants, husband and wife, were engaged in selling narcotics. The letter stated that the wife, Sue Gates, would drive to Florida, load the Gates' car with drugs, and fly back to Chicago. The husband, Lance Gates, would fly to Florida and drive the loaded car back to Chicago. The letter stated that the couple had drugs worth over $100,000 in their basement. The police, on receiving the letter, confirmed that the Gates lived at the address identified and that an "L. Gates" had made plane reservations from O'Hare Airport in Chicago to West Palm Beach, Florida. The police watched Gates as he boarded the flight at O'Hare and flew to West Palm Beach. Once there, the defendant Gates checked into a hotel room registered to Sue Gates. The following day he and an unidentified woman left the motel in a car bearing Illinois license plates and driving northbound on an Interstate frequently used by travelers to the Chicago area. Based on the above information, the police officers sought and obtained a search warrant. A search of the Gates' car and residence revealed over three hundred fifty pounds of marijuana.

The Gates were arrested and brought to trial. The trial court suppressed evidence obtained pursuant to the search warrant, and the Illinois Supreme Court affirmed, basing its analysis on the two-pronged test of Aguilar and Spinelli. The Supreme Court of the United States, alluding to hypertechnical rules developed by lower courts in applying the two-pronged test, abandoned it and reaffirmed the "totality of circumstances" analysis that traditionally has controlled probable cause determinations.

Under the totality of circumstances test, the two-pronged prongs of Aguilar and Spinelli --veracity and basis of knowledge--are still relevant, but are not to be accorded independent status.

The task of the issuing magistrate is simply to make a practical, common sense decision whether, given all the circumstances set forth in the affidavit before him, including the "veracity" and "basis of knowledge" of persons supplying hearsay information, there is a fair probability that contraband or evidence of a crime will be found in a particular place. And the duty of a reviewing court is simply to ensure that the magistrate had a "substantial basis for ... conclud[...