State v. Bishop

Decision Date30 January 2009
Docket NumberNo. 35241.,35241.
PartiesSTATE of Idaho, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Shane Marvin BISHOP, Defendant-Appellant.
CourtIdaho Supreme Court

Molly Huskey, State Appellate Public Defender, Boise, for appellant. Shannon N. Romero argued.

Honorable Lawrence G. Wasden, Idaho Attorney General, Boise, for respondent. Kenneth K. Jorgenson argued.

J. JONES, Justice.

Marvin Bishop was arrested after a search conducted by the Hagerman City Police revealed that he was in possession of methamphetamine. Bishop was subsequently charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, resisting an officer, and felony and misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance. After the district court denied his motion to suppress the methamphetamine, Bishop pleaded guilty to the felony possession and resisting charges. He then appealed the district court's denial of his motion to suppress. The Idaho Court of Appeals concluded that the district court erred in denying the motion. The State filed a petition for review with this Court, which was granted. We reverse the order denying the motion to suppress, vacate Bishop's conviction, and remand.

I.

On May 26, 2005, Hagerman Police Chief, Loren Miller, was on call when he received a telephone call from the City Superintendent, Casey Kelley. Kelley informed Miller that two carnival workers, who were in town working at Hagerman's Fossil Day weekend celebration, had approached him and indicated that a man, later identified as Bishop, had attempted to sell them methamphetamine. Kelley told Miller that the carnival workers had asked him to report the incident to the police and relayed the workers' description of Bishop. According to Kelley, the suspect had long hair, glasses, and was wearing a baseball cap and black clothes.

After reporting the incident to Miller, Kelley located Bishop and followed him to a local market. Kelley watched Bishop walk into the market and then called Miller a second time to report Bishop's current location. Miller arrived at the market while still on the phone with Kelley, who indicated that Bishop had just left the market and was walking south down a nearby alley. Miller identified Bishop as the man fitting Kelley's description and pulled up next to him in his patrol vehicle. Miller then told Bishop that he needed to speak with him, but Bishop only responded "hello" and kept walking. Unsatisfied with Bishop's response, Chief Miller exited his patrol vehicle and told Bishop to stop so they could talk. Bishop asked Miller what he wanted to talk about and Miller replied "methamphetamine." Upon hearing this, Bishop stopped walking and informed Miller that he was a Christian and that Jesus loved Miller. He also stated that he was on his way to work and had just gotten off probation.

During their brief conversation, Bishop and Miller were standing approximately five feet apart. Nonetheless, Miller was able to observe that Bishop's pupils were dilated, that he had bloodshot eyes, and that he had a "wild look in his eye." Based on these observations, Miller concluded that Bishop was likely under the influence of a narcotic.1 Miller also noticed that Bishop appeared nervous and was holding a white grocery bag close to his chest.

Relying on these facts, Miller decided to frisk Bishop for weapons. When Miller informed Bishop that he was going to conduct a frisk, Bishop responded "no." Miller then told Bishop that unless he complied, he would be placed under arrest. Once Bishop learned that he may be arrested, he initially complied by turning around and placing his hands on the trunk of the patrol car so Miller could conduct the frisk. Once Miller began frisking Bishop, however, Bishop turned around and told Miller "no" again. Miller then informed Bishop that he was under arrest for resisting and obstructing a police officer. This did not please Bishop, who began to struggle in order to avoid being handcuffed. It was not until after back-up arrived that Miller was able to handcuff Bishop and finish conducting the search. During the search, Miller discovered a bag containing methamphetamine in Bishop's pocket.2 Deputy Jeromy Smith then transported Bishop to the carnival where he was identified by the two carnival workers as the man who had tried to sell them methamphetamine.

Bishop was subsequently charged with possession of drug paraphernalia, resisting an officer, and felony and misdemeanor possession of a controlled substance. He filed a motion to suppress the methamphetamine recovered from his pocket on the grounds that Miller was not justified in conducting the stop or the frisk. The district judge denied Bishop's motion after concluding that both the stop and the frisk were constitutional. Bishop then pleaded guilty to felony possession of a controlled substance, I.C. § 37-2732(c)(1), and resisting an officer, I.C. § 18-705. The other two charges against him were dropped.

Bishop appealed the district court's denial of his motion to suppress.3 The Court of Appeals concluded that Miller's frisk of Bishop was unconstitutional and, accordingly, vacated Bishop's judgment of conviction and remanded the case to the district court. State v. Bishop, 2007 Opinion No. 80, 9 (Ct. App.2007). Although the Court of Appeals acknowledged that the methamphetamine was discovered during the search incident to Bishop's arrest and not during the initial frisk, it based its decision on the legality of the frisk. Id. at 7. It reasoned that because the "frisk [was] inexorably entwined with subsequent events," the evidence discovered during the search should have been suppressed. Id.

The State filed a petition for review with this Court, which was granted. On review, the State argues that the Court of Appeals' decision was not in accordance with the law because the legality of the initial frisk does not control whether the evidence, which was recovered during a search incident to arrest, should be suppressed. Bishop, on the other hand, argues that the Court of Appeals correctly concluded that the methamphetamine should have been suppressed. He asserts that the evidence was the fruit of an unlawful stop and frisk.

II.

On review, we are concerned with two issues: (1) whether Miller had reasonable suspicion to stop Bishop; and (2) whether the methamphetamine was discovered during a search incident to a lawful arrest.

A.

On review of a case from the Court of Appeals, this Court gives due consideration to the Court of Appeals' decision, but directly reviews the decision of the trial court. See State v. Sheahan, 139 Idaho 267, 272-73, 77 P.3d 956, 961-62 (2003). When reviewing a trial court's denial of a defendant's motion to suppress, this Court gives deference to the trial court's findings of fact, which will be upheld so long as they are not clearly erroneous. State v. Henage, 143 Idaho 655, 658, 152 P.3d 16, 19 (2007). Findings of fact are not clearly erroneous if they are supported by substantial and competent evidence. Id. at 659, 152 P.3d at 20. Decisions regarding the credibility of witnesses, weight to be given to conflicting evidence, and factual inferences to be drawn are also within the discretion of the trial court. See State v. Valdez-Molina, 127 Idaho 102, 106, 897 P.2d 993, 997 (1995). This Court exercises free review, however, over the trial court's conclusions regarding "whether constitutional requirements have been satisfied in light of the facts found." Henage, 143 Idaho at 658, 152 P.3d at 19. Accordingly, this Court freely reviews the constitutionality of a search and seizure. See State v. Aguirre, 141 Idaho 560, 562, 112 P.3d 848, 850 (Ct.App.2005).

B.

The State argues that Miller's decision to stop Bishop was justified by reasonable suspicion and, therefore, did not taint the subsequent discovery of methamphetamine. Bishop, however, argues that the stop was unreasonable. He maintains that the third-hand information Chief Miller received from Superintendent Kelley did not give Miller reasonable suspicion to conduct a stop. According to Bishop, such "hearsay upon hearsay" information cannot amount to reasonable suspicion unless it is conveyed to the stopping officer by another police officer or is independently corroborated by the police. He contends that the illegality of the stop tainted the subsequent search and, therefore, that the methamphetamine should have been excluded.

The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution protects "[t]he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures."4 U.S. CONST. amend. IV. This guarantee has been incorporated through the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to apply to the states. See, e.g., Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643, 655, 81 S.Ct. 1684, 1691, 6 L.Ed.2d 1081, 1089 (1961). Evidence obtained in violation of the amendment generally may not be used as evidence against the victim of the illegal government action. State v. Page, 140 Idaho 841, 846, 103 P.3d 454, 459 (2004); see also Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471, 485, 83 S.Ct. 407, 416, 9 L.Ed.2d 441, 453 (1963). This rule, known as the exclusionary rule, applies to evidence obtained directly from the illegal government action and to evidence discovered through the exploitation of the original illegality, or the fruit of the poisonous tree. Page, 140 Idaho at 846, 103 P.3d at 459; Wong Sun, 371 U.S. at 487-88, 83 S.Ct. at 417-18, 9 L.Ed.2d at 455. The test is "`whether, granting establishment of the primary illegality, the evidence to which instant objection is made has been come at by exploitation of [the original] illegality or instead by means sufficiently distinguishable to be purged of the primary taint.'" Wong Sun, 371 U.S. at 488, 83 S.Ct. at 417, 9 L.Ed.2d at 455 (quoting MAGUIRE, EVIDENCE OF GUILT 221 (1959)). Under this test, evidence that is sufficiently attenuated from the illegal...

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