State v. Cutler, 31486.

Citation143 Idaho 297,141 P.3d 1166
Decision Date14 July 2006
Docket NumberNo. 31487.,No. 31486.,31486.,31487.
CourtCourt of Appeals of Idaho
PartiesSTATE of Idaho, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. John Fitzgerald CUTLER, Defendant-Appellant.

Molly J. Huskey, State Appellate Public Defender; Eric D. Fredericksen, Deputy Appellate Public Defender, Boise, for appellant.

Hon. Lawrence G. Wasden, Attorney General; Carol L. Chaffee, Deputy Attorney General, Boise, for respondent.

PERRY, Chief Judge.

In these consolidated cases, John Fitzgerald Cutler appeals from his judgments of conviction, entered following his conditional pleas of guilty to possession of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. Specifically, Cutler challenges the district court's orders denying his motions to suppress. We affirm.

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURE

At approximately 6:30 a.m. on May 8, 2004, an ambulance responded to a report of an incoherent man, later identified as Cutler, sitting in the driver's seat of a parked vehicle in front of a closed store. A police officer dispatched to assist the ambulance arrived at the scene and observed three medical personnel evaluating Cutler through the open vehicle door. The medical personnel informed the officer that Cutler was extremely lethargic but did not appear to need immediate medical assistance. The ambulance then departed. When the medical personnel moved away from Cutler's vehicle, the officer observed a handgun on the ledge between the driver's seat and the doorsill. The officer removed the handgun from the vehicle and ascertained that it was unloaded. Cutler was removed from the vehicle and placed him into handcuffs. The officer told Cutler that he was not under arrest but was being handcuffed for safety purposes. The officer frisked Cutler for other weapons and discovered two pocket knives and a loaded magazine for the handgun.

The officer returned to Cutler's vehicle to ascertain if there were any other weapons, picked up an enclosed case in the passenger compartment, and determined that an object inside felt like a pipe. Cutler then admitted that the bag contained a methamphetamine pipe. Cutler opened the bag at the officer's request, revealing a methamphetamine pipe and methamphetamine. The officer placed Cutler under arrest for possession of a controlled substance. I.C. § 37-2732(c)(1). The state alleged that, because methamphetamine and the pipe were found in Cutler's vehicle, it was subject to forfeiture. The state obtained a warrant for the seizure of Cutler's vehicle. In a search of the vehicle following service of the warrant, police discovered several baggies containing methamphetamine, scales, and $1435. Cutler was thereafter charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. I.C. § 37-2732(a)(1)(A).

On June 22, Cutler pled not guilty to both charges. On August 18, Cutler filed motions to suppress. Cutler alleged that the officer discovered the methamphetamine forming the basis of the first charge in violation of his right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures and, therefore, the warrant for seizure of his vehicle was invalid. Cutler thus argued that the evidence found during both searches should be suppressed. The state responded that Cutler's motions to suppress were untimely and that the searches of Cutler's vehicle were lawful.

At the hearing held on Cutler's motions to suppress, Cutler's attorney admitted that he had not timely filed the motions because of his large caseload. The district court reserved ruling on whether there was a basis to excuse the untimely filing of the motions. The officer who initially arrested Cutler testified that he remained at the scene following the ambulance's departure because he felt obligated to ascertain whether Cutler needed assistance. The officer indicated that he searched Cutler's vehicle for weapons because he wanted to ensure Cutler did not have access to a weapon when he was returned to his vehicle.

Following the hearing, the district court determined that neither good cause nor excusable neglect justified defense counsel's failure to timely file his motions to suppress and they should therefore be denied. In the alternative, the district court found that the officer, pursuant to his community caretaking function, was justified in ascertaining whether Cutler needed assistance. The district court also found that, once the officer observed the handgun in Cutler's vehicle, he was authorized to investigate whether Cutler was unlawfully carrying a concealed weapon. The district court further found that the officer's reasonable belief that Cutler may have been armed and presently dangerous justified a limited search of Cutler's vehicle for weapons. The district court therefore denied Cutler's motions to suppress.

Cutler pled guilty to possession of a controlled substance and possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver, reserving his right to appeal the district court's denials of his motions to suppress. These appeals followed.

II. ANALYSIS

Initially, we address Cutler's contention that the district court erred in denying his motions to suppress as untimely. Pursuant to Idaho Criminal Rule 12(d):

[A motion to suppress] must be filed within twenty-eight (28) days after the entry of a plea of not guilty or seven (7) days before trial whichever is earlier. In felony cases, such motions must be brought on for hearing within fourteen (14) days after filing or forty-eight (48) hours before trial whichever is earlier. The court in its discretion may shorten or enlarge the time provided herein, and for good cause shown, or for excusable neglect, may relieve a party of failure to comply with this rule.

Cutler filed his motions to suppress fifty-seven days following his pleas of not guilty and, thus, twenty-nine days after the permissible date to file his motions. The district court determined that the mere assertion of a heavy caseload was insufficient to support a finding of excusable neglect or good cause under Rule 12(d).

On appeal, Cutler fails to support his assertion that trial counsel's heavy caseload amounted to excusable neglect with any authority. A party waives an issue on appeal if either authority or argument is lacking. State v. Zichko, 129 Idaho 259, 263, 923 P.2d 966, 970 (1996). However, Cutler has also failed to demonstrate that the district court erred by denying his motions to suppress on the merits. Therefore, we need not address whether the district court correctly determined that Cutler did not demonstrate excusable neglect or good cause for failing to timely file his motions to suppress.

Cutler contends that neither the officer's community caretaking function nor reasonable suspicion justified Cutler's detention. Cutler alleges that, even if the officer was justified in detaining him, the officer had no lawful basis to search his vehicle for weapons. Cutler argues that, therefore, the district court erred in denying his motions to suppress.

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 which 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. Detention

The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. Its purpose is to impose a standard of reasonableness upon the exercise of discretion by government agents and thereby safeguard the individual's privacy and security against arbitrary invasions. Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648, 653-54, 99 S.Ct. 1391, 1396, 59 L.Ed.2d 660, 667 (1979); State v. Maddox, 137 Idaho 821, 824, 54 P.3d 464, 467 (Ct.App. 2002). An investigative detention is constitutionally permissible when based upon reasonable suspicion, derived from specific articulable facts, that the person stopped has committed or is about to commit a crime. State v. Salato, 137 Idaho 260, 264, 47 P.3d 763, 767 (Ct.App.2001).

In this case, the district court found that the officer was authorized to detain Cutler because the officer's observation of the handgun in a place where it would be concealed if the vehicle door was closed gave rise to a reasonable suspicion that Cutler was carrying a concealed weapon without a permit. While in any motor vehicle, a person shall not carry a concealed weapon on or about his or her person without a license. I.C. § 18-3302(9). A person carrying a concealed weapon in violation of the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. I.C. § 18-3302(14).

Cutler asserts that, even if the officer had a reasonable suspicion that Cutler was carrying a concealed weapon at the time the officer saw the handgun, that suspicion was dispelled as soon as the officer determined that the handgun was unloaded. Cutler thus argues that reasonable suspicion did not justify his detention following the officer's removal of the handgun from the vehicle and at the time the officer searched his vehicle for weapons he was being illegally detained.

A firearm may be concealed legally in a motor vehicle so long as the weapon is disassembled or unloaded. I.C. § 18-3302(9). Further, an investigative detention must be temporary and last no longer than necessary to effectuate the purpose of the stop. State v. Roe, 140 Idaho 176, 181, 90 P.3d 926, 931 (Ct.App.2004); State v. Gutierrez, 137 Idaho 647, 651, 51 P.3d 461, 465 (Ct.App.2002). Where a person is detained, the scope of detention must be carefully...

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