State v. Christian

Decision Date26 July 2019
Docket NumberNo. 116,133,116,133
Citation445 P.3d 183
CourtKansas Supreme Court
Parties STATE of Kansas, Appellee, v. Daniel J. CHRISTIAN, Appellant.

Randall Hodgkinson, of Kansas Appellate Defender Office, Topeka, argued the cause, and Kimberly Streit Vogelsberg, of the same office, was on the briefs for appellant.

Andrew R. Davidson, assistant district attorney, argued the cause, and Keith Schroeder, district attorney, and Derek Schmidt, attorney general, were with him on the brief for appellee.

The opinion of the court was delivered by Luckert, J.:

In this appeal, a Court of Appeals panel reversed Daniel J. Christian's convictions and sentences, holding he did not properly waive his right to a jury trial. But the panel also provided guidance on remand about Christian's motion to suppress evidence seized after a police officer unconstitutionally detained him. The panel applied the attenuation doctrine, concluding the district court could admit the evidence. The panel's holding rests mainly on its determination that a police officer's discovery of an expired tag on Christian's vehicle presented an intervening circumstance that attenuated the taint of the officer's unconstitutional seizure of Christian.

State v. Christian , No. 116,133, 2017 WL 3947406, at *1, 4-5, 9 (Kan. App. 2017) (unpublished opinion). We reverse that holding because the discovery of the expired tag did not break the causal chain set in motion by the illegal seizure.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Christian lawfully parked his car on a public street and sat there for a period of time. An unidentified caller contacted police to report a suspicious car in front of her house. A Hutchinson police officer responded and saw a car matching the one described by the caller. The car's driver—later identified as Christian—ducked down as the officer drove past. The officer parked his patrol car perpendicular to the rear of Christian's car, activated his emergency lights, and got out to make contact. As he approached the car, he noticed its license tag had expired. The officer asked Christian for his driver's license and proof of insurance. Christian produced a valid driver's license but did not have proof of insurance. The officer told Christian to exit the vehicle, and he arrested Christian for failure to provide proof of insurance.

Christian tried to take his keys with him, but the officer instructed him to put them on the car's roof. Another officer then arrived and asked Christian about a small silver container on Christian's key chain. Christian responded he kept pills in it and, when asked, consented to a search of the container. It contained a "[g]reen leafy vegetation" consistent with marijuana. The first officer then placed Christian under arrest for possession of marijuana, and the officers searched Christian's vehicle. The search revealed two digital scales, some marijuana, and methamphetamine. A search of Christian's person also revealed a clear baggie inside his pocket.

The State charged Christian with possession of methamphetamine, possession of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia. He filed a motion to suppress evidence, arguing officers obtained it as the result of an unlawful seizure. The State asserted the first officer had reasonable suspicion to initiate the stop and the discovery of the expired tag justified continuation of the detention. The State argued Christian consented to the search of the container on his key ring and the discovery of marijuana provided probable cause to arrest and reasons to believe the officers would find additional evidence of the crime in the vehicle. The State claimed the automobile exception based on probable cause plus exigent circumstances justified the officers' search of Christian's vehicle. The State further asserted the evidence in the wallet and container was admissible under the inevitable discovery doctrine because officers had arrested Christian, would have the vehicle towed, and would conduct an inventory search of the vehicle and a search of Christian's personal property upon intake at the jail.

The district court held an evidentiary hearing, following which it issued a written decision denying Christian's motion. The district court found officers seized Christian when the first officer pulled behind the vehicle and activated his emergency lights. The district court noted "[t]he State [employed] the shotgun approach in presenting its position. The questioning and answers of the officer were tailored to support a number of different legal theories supporting the search." But the district court determined the pertinent inquiry was whether the officer had reasonable suspicion for the stop and found it was a "close yes." It denied the motion to suppress, holding:

"When the officer observed the expired tag, the custody then expanded beyond the stage of reasonable suspicion. The lack of insurance justified an arrest. [Christian] consented to a search of the container on the key chain. The car was going to be towed and therefore the vehicle would have been inventoried."

The court accepted Christian's waiver of a jury trial and convicted him of all charges at an evidentiary bench trial. Christian filed a timely notice of appeal, raising three issues. The Court of Appeals reversed his convictions and sentence, holding he did not properly waive his right to a jury trial.

Even though that holding reversing his convictions rendered the other issues moot, the panel addressed the merits of Christian's suppression motion because the issue could arise again on remand. See Christian , 2017 WL 3947406, at *4-5. The panel found the initial seizure was unsupported by reasonable suspicion. But it upheld the denial of Christian's motion under a different legal rationale—the United States Supreme Court's attenuation doctrine analysis in Utah v. Strieff , 579 U.S. ––––, 136 S. Ct. 2056, 195 L. Ed. 2d 400 (2016). The panel dismissed Christian's third argument—a challenge to his criminal history score—as moot. See Christian , 2017 WL 3947406, at *9.

Christian timely petitioned for this court's review on the attenuation and criminal history issues. This court granted Christian's petition only on the suppression issue. This means the criminal history issue argued by Christian is not before us. See Supreme Court Rule 8.03(i)(1) (2019 Kan. S. Ct. R. 53).

Our jurisdiction is proper under K.S.A. 20-3018(b) (petition for review of Court of Appeals decision).

ANALYSIS

Christian's petition presents a narrow issue about whether Strieff ' s attenuation doctrine analysis applies to allow the admission of the evidence. Some background helps put this issue in perspective because, while the issue is now narrow, it began before the district court with the broader question: Did the officers violate Christian's rights under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and, if so, should the court exclude any evidence derived from the seizure and search?

The Fourth Amendment provides: "The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated." U.S. Const. amend. IV. By prohibiting "unreasonable" searches and seizures, the Fourth Amendment inferentially allows "reasonable" ones. Reasonable searches and searches include those supported by a valid warrant or by one of the warrant-requirement exceptions defined by the United States Supreme Court. State v. Doelz , 309 Kan. 133, 140, 432 P.3d 669 (2019). When, as here, a criminal defendant seeks to suppress evidence obtained from a search following a detention that is a seizure, the legality of both the seizure and the search present intertwined questions because an unlawful seizure may taint the search and make it unconstitutional. State v. Thompson , 284 Kan. 763, 772, 166 P.3d 1015 (2007) ; see K.S.A. 22-2402 ; see also Terry v. Ohio , 392 U.S. 1, 18, 88 S. Ct. 1868, 20 L. Ed. 2d 889 (1968). The issue Christian presented to the district court was the intertwined question of whether an unlawful detention tainted the later search.

The district court found the officer seized Christian when he pulled behind Christian's vehicle and activated his emergency lights. But the district court applied one of the well-delineated exceptions to the requirement that a warrant justify a seizure, finding the officer had reasonable suspicion that a crime had been, was being, or was about to be committed. See Terry , 392 U.S. at 20-22, 88 S.Ct. 1868. The district court thus admitted the evidence. But the Court of Appeals disagreed, ruling the district court erred in finding that reasonable suspicion justified the initial detention. See Christian , 2017 WL 3947406, at *8.

The State did not cross-petition for review of that ruling, so it is not properly before this court. See Rule 8.03(b)(6)(C)(i) and (iii), (c)(3) ; State v. Gray , 306 Kan. 1287, 1292-93, 403 P.3d 1220 (2017). We, therefore, accept the panel's finding that the officer unlawfully seized Christian. This determination would often lead to a ruling that the court had to suppress the methamphetamine, marijuana, and drug paraphernalia discovered on Christian and in his car.

Suppression results from applying the exclusionary rule under which a court may suppress the "primary evidence obtained as a direct result of an illegal search or seizure" and "evidence later discovered and found to be derivative of an illegality," the so-called " ‘fruit of the poisonous tree’ " if it finds officers obtained evidence in violation of the Fourth Amendment. Segura v. United States , 468 U.S. 796, 804, 104 S. Ct. 3380, 82 L. Ed. 2d 599 (1984) ; see Wong Sun v. United States , 371 U.S. 471, 487-88, 83 S. Ct. 407, 9 L. Ed. 2d 441 (1963) (explaining fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine); State v. Deffenbaugh , 216 Kan. 593, 598, 533 P.2d 1328 (1975) (same). But " ‘the exclusionary rule has never been interpreted to proscribe the use of illegally seized evidence in all...

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4 cases
  • State v. Ellis, No. 120,046
    • United States
    • Kansas Supreme Court
    • 7 Agosto 2020
    ...competent evidence. The appellate court then reviews the district court's ultimate legal conclusion de novo. State v. Christian , 310 Kan. 229, 235, 445 P.3d 183 (2019) ; see State v. Hanke , 307 Kan. 823, 827, 415 P.3d 966 (2018) (general standard of review for reviewing district court dec......
  • State v. Tatro
    • United States
    • Kansas Supreme Court
    • 26 Julio 2019
  • State v. Griffith
    • United States
    • Kansas Court of Appeals
    • 24 Enero 2020
    ...court exercises de novo review over the ultimate legal conclusion of whether the attenuation doctrine applies. See State v. Christian , 310 Kan. 229, 235, 445 P.3d 183 (2019).The attenuation doctrine allows courts to admit evidence found as the result of an unlawful search or seizure when "......
  • State v. Herrera
    • United States
    • Kansas Court of Appeals
    • 8 Octubre 2021
    ...291 Kan. 490, 498, 242 P.3d 1186 (2010).Both provisions broadly prohibit unreasonable searches and seizures. See State v. Christian , 310 Kan. 229, 233-34, 445 P.3d 183 (2019). But they also "inferentially allow[ ] ‘reasonable’ ones." 310 Kan. at 234. Reasonable searches are executed under ......

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