State v. Baker

• Citation: 107 P.3d 1214,141 Idaho 163
• Decision Date: 22 December 2004
• Docket Number: No. 30865.,30865.
• Parties: STATE of Idaho, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Jesse Munro BAKER, Defendant-Respondent.
• Court: United States State Supreme Court of Idaho

107 P.3d 1214

141 Idaho 163

STATE of Idaho, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Jesse Munro BAKER, Defendant-Respondent.

No. 30865.

Supreme Court of Idaho, Boise, November 2004 Term.

December 22, 2004.

Rehearing Denied February 24, 2005.

Hon. Lawrence G. Wasden, Attorney General, Boise, for appellant. Kenneth K. Jorgensen argued.

Molly J. Huskey, State Appellate Public Defender, Boise, for respondent. Eric D. Fredericksen, Deputy State Appellate Public Defender argued. KIDWELL, Justice.

The State of Idaho appealed from the district court's order to suppress cocaine found in Baker's car. The Court of Appeals reversed the decision of the district court and denied the motion to suppress evidence. This Court granted review and reverses the decision of the district court.

I.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

At approximately two o'clock in the morning on June 19, 2002, Officer Marshall of the Post Falls Police Department was on patrol when he observed a white vehicle driven by a male. Officer Marshall noticed the driver to display a "panic look" upon making eye contact and then the vehicle accelerated as if to get away from the officer. Officer Marshall proceeded to follow the car for about a quarter mile until it turned and entered a cul-de-sac. Officer Marshall watched as the white car stopped momentarily next to a blue car, which was parked along the side of the road, and then pulled forward and stopped in front of the blue car. At no point did Officer Marshall observe what he believed to be any law violations in the operation of these vehicles.

Officer Marshall saw five occupants in the vehicle. He was able to recognize some of the individuals in the blue car from prior criminal activity, and he was aware that some of the individuals he recognized did not live in the area. Officer Marshall pulled in behind the white vehicle and stopped his patrol car. He did not activate his overhead lights, however he did shine his spotlight briefly into the driver side rear window and rear view mirror area prior to exiting his patrol car. He then positioned the spotlight toward the rear portion of the white vehicle.

Baker, the driver of the white car, was on his way to pick up two of his friends to take them home to Spokane when he noticed the officer. When he stopped in front of the blue car, three of his friends exited the blue car and got into Baker's car. He was about to leave when he thought the officer was stopping him. He recalled that the officer's overhead lights were on, but after viewing the video of the stop at the hearing he acknowledged that it was the spotlight. Baker observed Officer Marshall get out of the patrol vehicle and walk up to his car.

Upon approaching Baker's car Officer Marshall noticed that the driver side window was rolled down, and he detected a strong odor of marijuana. He asked Baker what was going on and requested identification from Baker and his passengers. He retained Baker's license in order to run a warrant check through dispatch. Information obtained subsequent to this point led to Baker's arrest and charges before the court. Baker was charged with one count of possession of cocaine and one count of frequenting a place where controlled substances are known to be located, under I.C. § 37-2732(c)(1) and § 37-2732(d), respectively. Baker filed a motion to suppress evidence found in his car; he claimed his detention violated the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article I, § 17 of the Idaho Constitution, which protect against unreasonable searches and seizures.

The district court determined that while Baker initially stopped on his own free will, the use of the spotlight to illuminate his car amounted to a display of authority sufficient to create a detention under the Fourth Amendment. The district court concluded that the detention violated the Fourth Amendment because it was not supported by reasonable suspicion and ordered the evidence be suppressed. The State appealed, arguing the district court erred in finding that Baker was detained upon the officer's activation of the spotlight. The Court of Appeals reversed the decision of the district court and held the use of the spotlight did not constitute a seizure. This Court granted review and holds the officer's use of a spotlight to illuminate Baker's car does not constitute a seizure under the Fourth Amendment.

II.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

The standard of review of a suppression motion is bifurcated. This Court accepts the trial court's findings of fact that are supported by substantial evidence, but freely reviews the application of constitutional principles to the facts as found. State v. Holland, 135 Idaho 159, 161, 15 P.3d 1167, 1169 (2000).

III.

ANALYSIS

An Officer's Use Of A Spotlight To Illuminate A Parked Vehicle Does Not Constitute A Show Of Authority That Would Lead A Reasonable Person To Believe That He Was Not Free To Leave.

The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that, "[t]he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated." An encounter between an officer and a citizen does not trigger Fourth Amendment scrutiny, however, unless it is nonconsensual. Florida v. Bostick, 501 U.S. 429, 434, 111 S.Ct. 2382, 2386, 115 L.Ed.2d 389, 398 (1991). An encounter becomes a seizure only when an officer, by means of physical force or show of authority, has restrained the liberty of a citizen. United States v. Mendenhall, 446 U.S. 544, 553-54, 100 S.Ct. 1870, 1876-77, 64 L.Ed.2d 497, 508-09 (1980). The test for deciding whether someone has been seized by a show of authority is an objective one. Id. at 554, 100 S.Ct. at 1877, 64 L.Ed.2d at 509. The Supreme Court of the United States has held that a seizure occurs "only if, in view of all of the circumstances surrounding the incident, a reasonable person would have believed that he was not free to leave." Id. Examples of circumstances that might indicate a seizure would be the threatening presence of several officers, the display of a weapon by an officer, physical touching of the person, or the tone or use of language indicating that compliance with an officer's request might be compelled. Id. In the absence of some such evidence, otherwise inoffensive contact between a citizen and an officer cannot, as a matter of law, amount to a seizure of that person. Id. at 555, 100 S.Ct. at 1877, 64 L.Ed.2d at 509.

The question this Court is presented with is whether Officer Marshall's use of a spotlight to illuminate Baker's car constitutes a seizure of Baker. While this Court has not addressed the issue, courts in other jurisdictions have found the use of a spotlight alone does not constitute a show of authority such that a reasonable person would not feel free to leave. For example, when an officer observed a vehicle parked in a residential area known for drug trafficking, the Court of Appeals of Arizona held that "it was not unreasonable for [the officer] to take the relatively unintrusive investigatory stop of shining a spotlight on the vehicle. Such conduct constituted neither an unlawful search of the vehicle nor seizure of Stuart." State v. Stuart, 168 Ariz. 83, 811 P.2d 335, 338 (Ct.App.1990). Stuart's motion to dismiss based on the claim that he was illegally stopped was denied. Id.

In People v. Perez, 211 Cal.App.3d 1492, 260 Cal.Rptr. 172 (1989), an appellate court in California held no detention occurred when an officer parked his car head on with the defendant's car, leaving enough room for defendant to drive away. Perez, 211 Cal.App.3d at 1494, 260 Cal.Rptr. 172. The officer used his high beams as well as the spotlights on both sides of the patrol car to more clearly see the occupants and their reactions, but he did not use his emergency lights. Id. The court concluded the use of the lights did not constitute a detention and defendant's motion to suppress based on his claim that he was illegally detained was denied. Id.

In People v. Cascio, 932 P.2d 1381 (Colo.1997), the Supreme Court of Colorado held the officers' use of a spotlight and flashlights were "a matter of practical necessity as the encounter took place when it was getting dark, and [the court did] not attribute any significance to their use." Cascio, 932 P.2d at 1388. The court denied defendant's motion to suppress evidence, which was based on the claim that he had been illegally detained. Id. at 1389.

The Supreme Court of Montana denied defendant's motion to suppress holding no detention occurred when officers pulled in behind defendant's parked car and shined a spotlight in the vehicle. State v. Clayton, 309 Mont. 215, 45 P.3d 30, 35 (2002). The court noted, "The police officers did not initiate the stop, but only pulled in behind [the defendant] and shined the spotlight to determine how many people were in the vehicle. The officers did not have their sirens or emergency lights on and the encounter took place on a public street." Id.

The Court of Appeals of Oregon found no detention took place and denied defendant's motion to suppress evidence in State v. Calhoun, 101 Or.App. 622, 792 P.2d 1223 (1990). It noted that "the fact that the headlights and spotlight were on did not transform the encounter into a stop" and that the officer did not park in such a way that prevented the defendant from driving away. Id. at 1225.

In Stewart v. State, 603 S.W.2d 861 (Tex.Crim.App.1980), the Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas held that the police exercised no authority when they approached a van that was parked at the end of a street and shined their spotlights into the van. Id. at 862.

In State v. Justesen, 47 P.3d 936, 939 (Utah Ct.App.2002), the Court of Appeals of Utah held that the use of headlights and take-down lights by the officer, who parked behind the defendant, to illuminate defendant's car was "no different than an officer pulling behind a vehicle parked on the side of...