State v. Brooks
| Decision Date | 24 September 2014 |
| Docket Number | No. 41046.,41046. |
| Court | Idaho Court of Appeals |
| Parties | STATE of Idaho, Plaintiff–Respondent, v. Matthew O. BROOKS, Defendant–Appellant. |
Sara B. Thomas, State Appellate Public Defender; Ben P. McGreevy, Deputy Appellate Public Defender, Boise, for appellant. Ben P. McGreevy argued.
Hon. Lawrence G. Wasden, Attorney General; Lori A. Fleming, Deputy Attorney General, Boise, for respondent. Lori A. Fleming argued.
Matthew O. Brooks appeals from his judgment of conviction for possession of a controlled substance. Specifically, Brooks contends that the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence, arguing that his alleged failure to signal for five seconds before changing lanes did not violate the law and thus could not justify the traffic stop. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm.
Brooks was stopped after an officer observed Brooks change lanes on the interstate without signaling for at least five continuous seconds.1 The officer understood this to be a violation of I.C. § 49–808(2). The officer contacted Brooks and had Brooks roll down his passenger side window. While speaking with Brooks, the officer noticed an open cigarette box in plain view on the passenger seat. Visible inside the box was a small plastic bag of a clear crystal substance, which the officer recognized as methamphetamine. The officer also smelled the odor of marijuana through the open window and observed drug paraphernalia in the center console. A subsequent search of the vehicle revealed more paraphernalia.
Brooks was charged with possession of a controlled substance, I.C. § 37–2732(c)(1). He filed a motion to suppress evidence obtained as a result of the stop, arguing that the stop was not justified by reasonable suspicion. Specifically, he asserted that the statute did not require him to signal for at least five continuous seconds unless he was both on a controlled-access highway and turning from a parked position. Therefore, he argued, the stop based on his supposed violation of the statute was unlawful and the evidence gathered therefrom should be suppressed. The district court denied the motion after a hearing. Brooks filed a motion to reconsider, which was also denied.2 Brooks then entered a conditional guilty plea to possession of a controlled substance, preserving his right to appeal the denial of his motion to suppress. The district court withheld judgment and placed Brooks on probation for three years. Brooks appeals.
The standard of review of a suppression motion is bifurcated. When a decision on a motion to suppress is challenged, we accept the trial court's findings of fact that are supported by substantial evidence, but we freely review the application of constitutional principles to the facts as found. State v. Atkinson, 128 Idaho 559, 561, 916 P.2d 1284, 1286 (Ct.App.1996). At a suppression hearing, the power to assess the credibility of witnesses, resolve factual conflicts, weigh evidence, and draw factual inferences is vested in the trial court. State v. Valdez–Molina, 127 Idaho 102, 106, 897 P.2d 993, 997 (1995) ; State v. Schevers, 132 Idaho 786, 789, 979 P.2d 659, 662 (Ct.App.1999).
A traffic stop by an officer constitutes a seizure of the vehicle's occupants and implicates the Fourth Amendment's prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures. Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648, 653, 99 S.Ct. 1391, 1396, 59 L.Ed.2d 660, 667–68 (1979) ; State v. Atkinson, 128 Idaho 559, 561, 916 P.2d 1284, 1286 (Ct.App.1996). Under the Fourth Amendment, an officer may stop a vehicle to investigate possible criminal behavior if there is a reasonable and articulable suspicion that the vehicle is being driven contrary to traffic laws. United States v. Cortez, 449 U.S. 411, 417, 101 S.Ct. 690, 695, 66 L.Ed.2d 621, 628–29 (1981) ; State v. Flowers, 131 Idaho 205, 208, 953 P.2d 645, 648 (Ct.App.1998). The reasonableness of the suspicion must be evaluated upon the totality of the circumstances at the time of the stop. State v. Ferreira, 133 Idaho 474, 483, 988 P.2d 700, 709 (Ct.App.1999). The reasonable suspicion standard requires less than probable cause but more than mere speculation or instinct on the part of the officer. Id. An officer may draw reasonable inferences from the facts in his or her possession, and those inferences may be drawn from the officer's experience and law enforcement training. State v. Montague, 114 Idaho 319, 321, 756 P.2d 1083, 1085 (Ct.App.1988). Observation of a traffic violation provides reasonable suspicion to justify a limited stop. State v. DuValt, 131 Idaho 550, 553, 961 P.2d 641, 644 (1998) ; State v. Anderson, 134 Idaho 552, 554, 6 P.3d 408, 410 (Ct.App.2000).
Brooks argues that the district court erred in interpreting I.C. § 49–808(2) as requiring that a continuous signal must be given for at least five seconds before moving left or right on a controlled-access highway. Brooks contends that the plain language of I.C. § 49–808(2) requires such a signal on a controlled-access highway only when simultaneously turning from a parked position.3 Brooks also contends that, if the statute is deemed ambiguous, it should be construed in his favor under the rule of lenity. Additionally, in the event that we agree with Brooks's interpretation of the statute, Brooks asserts that the officer's misunderstanding of the statutory requirements is a mistake of law that rendered the stop per se unreasonable.
We need not address Brooks's alternative arguments, as this case is resolved through the plain language of the statute. This Court exercises free review over the application and construction of statutes. State v. Reyes, 139 Idaho 502, 505, 80 P.3d 1103, 1106 (Ct.App.2003). Where the language of a statute is plain and unambiguous, this Court must give effect to the statute as written, without engaging in statutory construction. State v. Burnight, 132 Idaho 654, 659, 978 P.2d 214, 219 (1999) ; State v. Escobar, 134 Idaho 387, 389, 3 P.3d 65, 67 (Ct.App.2000). The language of the statute is to be given its plain, obvious, and rational meaning. Burnight, 132 Idaho at 659, 978 P.2d at 219. If the language is clear and unambiguous, there is no occasion for the court to resort to legislative history or rules of statutory interpretation. Escobar, 134 Idaho at 389, 3 P.3d at 67.
Idaho Code Section 49–808 governs the use of turn signals on Idaho roadways and provides, in pertinent part:
(Emphasis added.)
Brooks argues that the plain meaning of the word "and" is exclusively to conjoin two ideas, leading to his interpretation that the italicized portion of the statute requires signaling for at least five seconds only when a vehicle is turning from a parked position on a controlled-access highway. For support of this proposition he cites Ameritel Inns, Inc. v. Pocatello–Chubbuck Auditorium or Cmty. Ctr. Dist., 146 Idaho 202, 192 P.3d 1026 (2008). In that case, the Idaho Supreme Court interpreted the word "and" as a "conjunction connecting words or phrases expressing the idea that the latter is to be added to or taken along with the first." Id. at 205, 192 P.3d at 1029 (quoting BLACK'S LAW DICTIONARY 86 (6th ed.1990)). Thus, the use of "and" in a statute defining an auditorium district as one to "build, operate, maintain, market and manage" public facilities required the auditorium district to perform all of the listed functions in the list. Ameritel Inns, 146 Idaho at 205, 192 P.3d at 1029 (quoting I.C. § 67–4902 ).
Brooks also cites to the case of Brink v. State, 117 Idaho 55, 785 P.2d 619 (1990). In Brink, the Idaho Supreme Court interpreted a portion of I.C. § 18–8002(4)(b) that formerly allowed suspension of driving privileges for refusal to take an evidentiary test unless the court found that "the police officer did not have probable cause to stop and request [the driver] to take the test." Brink, 117 Idaho at 56–57, 785 P.2d at 620–21. The Court rejected the state's argument that the word " and" should be replaced with "or" in the statute. Instead, the Court held that the word "and" in the statutory phrase "probable cause to stop and request" is "plainly conjunctive," requiring an officer to "have probable cause to stop the driver and probable cause to request that the driver submit to a blood alcohol content test." Id.; see also State v. Gamino, 148 Idaho 827, 830, 230 P.3d 437, 440 (Ct.App.2010) ().
Brooks also attempts to distinguish the case of K Mart Corp. v. Idaho State Tax Comm'n, 111 Idaho 719, 727 P.2d 1147 (1986). In that case, the Court interpreted the word "and" in a tax exemption statute as indicating that the "statute exempts two types" of property. K Mart, 111 Idaho at 721, 727 P.2d at 1149. Brooks argues that the Court's interpretation in K Mart departed from the plain meaning of the word "and" only because the two types of personal property subject to the tax exemption were mutually exclusive in nature. See id. However, the Court's interpretation did not rely on the mutually exclusive nature of the exemptions. Indeed,...
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State v. Brooks, 41046.
...157 Idaho 890341 P.3d 1259STATE of Idaho, Plaintiff–Respondentv.Matthew O. BROOKS, Defendant–Appellant.No. 41046.Court of Appeals of Idaho.Sept. 24, 2014.Review Denied Feb. 9, 2015.341 P.3d 1259Sara B. Thomas, State Appellate Public Defender; Ben P. McGreevy, Deputy Appellate Public Defende......