State v. Garcia

• Decision Date: 14 November 2006
• Docket Number: No. 32191.,32191.
• Citation: 143 Idaho 774,152 P.3d 645
• Parties: STATE of Idaho, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Francisco GARCIA, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: Idaho Court of Appeals

152 P.3d 645

143 Idaho 774

STATE of Idaho, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. Francisco GARCIA, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 32191.

Court of Appeals of Idaho.

November 14, 2006.

Review Denied February 20, 2007.

Nevin, Benjamin McKay, LLP, Boise, for appellant. Dennis A. Benjamin argued.

Hon. Lawrence G. Wasden, Attorney General; John C. McKinney, Deputy Attorney General, Boise, for respondent. John C. McKinney argued.

WALTERS, Judge Pro Tem.

Francisco Garcia appeals his judgment of conviction for trafficking in marijuana. Specifically, Garcia challenges the district court's denial of his motion to suppress. We affirm.

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURE

In February 2005, having received a report that a group of men had been meeting during the noon hour at a campground in Boise and smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol, the Boise Police Department proceeded to investigate. Shortly before 12:00 p.m. on February 14, Officer Kevin Holtry arrived on the scene in plain clothes in an unmarked car and watched as seven men in several vehicles arrived at the campground. One of the men was Garcia who came in a silver pickup truck with one male passenger. The men went to a convenience store nearby and returned to the campground where they congregated in the picnic area. As they began to eat and drink beer, Officer Holtry observed Garcia smoking what he believed to be a marijuana cigarette due to the manner in which Garcia smoked it and because Garcia "would hand it to another person who would take a couple drags off [it] and then hand[] it back."

After alerting other officers waiting nearby in marked patrol cars, Officer Holtry walked toward the men and awaited the arrival of back-up. The patrol cars drove up to the picnic area and two armed officers joined Officer Holtry in identifying themselves when they confronted Garcia and the group of men. As the officers approached, they communicated to the men that the officers knew the men were smoking marijuana and if the men handed over all the marijuana they had, they would be given citations and released but, if not, they would be arrested. One of the men immediately complied and turned over marijuana he had on his person.

Officer Holtry then requested that Garcia submit to a pat-down search to which Garcia agreed. Garcia denied having any marijuana on him, and no drugs were found during the pat-down. Garcia, however, did admit to having brought a marijuana cigarette to the location and smoking it. When questioned regarding the truck Officer Holtry had seen Garcia drive to the scene, Garcia initially denied that the truck belonged to him, but eventually admitted ownership after the officers investigated the registration. Garcia testified that during the officers' investigation he became concerned with the amount of time passing (approximately thirty minutes) as he and his co-workers were expected back at work.

Officer Holtry eventually asked Garcia for permission to search his truck. Garcia answered in the affirmative. Without requesting that Garcia complete a consent-to-search form or reading him his Miranda¹ rights, Officer Holtry opened the door of the truck. He was met with the odor of green marijuana and saw a large amount of marijuana flakes throughout the console area. In the course of the search, the officer discovered a paper bag on the floorboard behind the passenger seat containing a plastic bag with nearly two pounds of marijuana inside. Garcia was promptly placed under arrest and ultimately charged with trafficking in marijuana in violation of I.C. § 37-2732B(a)(1).

Garcia filed a motion to suppress the entirety of the testimonial and physical evidence obtained by the officers in the incident. Following a hearing, the district court denied the motion to suppress the physical evidence, but granted the motion with regard to Garcia's statements as having been elicited in violation of Miranda. Garcia responded by filing a motion to reconsider the order, which was denied. He then entered a conditional guilty plea reserving the right to appeal the denial of his motion to suppress and motion to reconsider. Garcia was sentenced to eight years with two years fixed and ordered to pay a fine and restitution. This appeal followed.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

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 draft 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).

III. ANALYSIS

The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as well as article I, § 17 of the Idaho Constitution, prohibit unreasonable searches. While a warrantless search is presumptively unreasonable, it may still be permissible if it falls within an established exception to the warrant requirement or is otherwise reasonable under the circumstances presented. Minnesota v. Dickerson, 508 U.S. 366, 372, 113 S.Ct. 2130, 2135, 124 L.Ed.2d 334, 343 (1993); State v. Weaver, 127 Idaho 288, 290, 900 P.2d 196, 198 (1995); State v. Greene, 140 Idaho 605, 607, 97 P.3d 472, 474 (Ct.App.2004); State v. McIntee, 124 Idaho 803, 804, 864 P.2d 641, 642 (Ct.App. 1993). Garcia contends the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress, arguing that none of the exceptions to the warrant requirement found satisfied by the district court were met. Specifically, he submits his consent to the search was coerced, the evidence was not discovered during a valid search incident to arrest, and an inventory search was not appropriate in this instance. Finally, he argues that the evidence was suppressible as the "fruit" of a Miranda violation pursuant to Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471, 83 S.Ct. 407, 9 L.Ed.2d 441 (1963).

A search conducted with consent that was freely given is an exception to the warrant requirement. Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218, 219, 93 S.Ct. 2041, 2043, 36 L.Ed.2d 854, 858 (1973); State v. Dominguez, 137 Idaho 681, 683, 52 P.3d 325, 327 (Ct.App.2002). It falls to the state to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that consent was voluntary as opposed to being the result of duress or coercion, direct or implied. Schneckloth, 412 U.S. at 221, 93 S.Ct. at 2044, 36 L.Ed.2d at 859; State v. Hansen, 138 Idaho 791, 796, 69 P.3d 1052, 1057 (2003); State v. Jaborra, 143 Idaho 94, 97, 137 P.3d 481, 484 (Ct.App.2006); Dominguez, 137 Idaho at 683, 52 P.3d at 327; State v. Fleenor, 133 Idaho 552, 554, 989 P.2d 784, 786 (Ct.App.1999). A voluntary decision is "the product of an essentially free and unconstrained choice by its maker," Schneckloth, 412 U.S. at 225, 93 S.Ct. at 2047, 36 L.Ed.2d at 862, while an individual's consent is involuntary "if his will has been overborne and his capacity for self-determination critically impaired." Id. To determine whether a subject's will was overborne in a particular case, the court must assess "the totality of all the surrounding circumstances—both the characteristics of the accused and the details of the interrogation." Id. at 226, 93 S.Ct. at 2047, 36 L.Ed.2d at 862. Accordingly, whether consent was granted voluntarily, or was the product of coercion, is a factual determination to be based upon the surrounding circumstances, accounting for subtly coercive police questions and the possibly vulnerable subjective state of the party from whom consent is elicited. Id. at 229, 93 S.Ct. at 2048-49, 36 L.Ed.2d at 864; Hansen, 138 Idaho at 796, 69 P.3d at 1057; Jaborra, 143 Idaho at 97, 137 P.3d at 484; Dominguez, 137 Idaho at 683, 52 P.3d at 327.

A determination of voluntariness is not dependent "on the presence or the absence of a single controlling criterion." Schneckloth, 412 U.S. at 226, 93 S.Ct. at 2047, 36 L.Ed.2d at 862. Factors to be considered include whether there were numerous officers involved in the confrontation, Castellon v. United States, 864 A.2d 141, 155 (D.C.2004); United States v. Jones, 846 F.2d 358, 361 (6th Cir.1988); the location and conditions of the consent, including whether it was at night, United States v. Mapp, 476 F.2d 67, 77-78 (2d Cir.1973); whether the police retained the individual's identification, United States v. Chemaly, 741 F.2d 1346, 1353 (11th Cir.1984); whether the individual was free to leave, Ohio v. Robinette, 519 U.S. 33, 39-40, 117 S.Ct. 417, 421, 136 L.Ed.2d 347, 354-55 (1996); Chemaly, 741 F.2d at 1353; State v. Gutierrez, 137 Idaho 647, 651, 51 P.3d 461, 465 (Ct.App.2002); and whether the individual knew of his right to refuse consent, Schneckloth, 412 U.S. at 248-49, 93 S.Ct. at 2058-59, 36 L.Ed.2d at 875; Chemaly, 741 F.2d at 1353; State v. Jones, 126 Idaho 791, 793, 890 P.2d 1214, 1216 (Ct.App. 1995). Although the presence of multiple officers does not, standing alone, establish coercion, and there is no requirement that police inform the individual he is free to leave or that he has a right to refuse consent, these factors are nevertheless relevant when assessing the totality of the circumstances. See Robinette, 519 U.S. at 39-40, 117 S.Ct. at 421, 136 L.Ed.2d at 354-55; Schneckloth, 412 U.S. at 248, 93 S.Ct. at 2058, 36 L.Ed.2d at 875; Jones, 846 F.2d at 361; Chemaly, 741 F.2d at 1353; Castellon, 864 A.2d at 155; Gutierrez, 137 Idaho at 651, 51 P.3d at 465; Jones, 126 Idaho at 793, 890 P.2d at 1216.

Importantly, the trial court is the proper forum for the "careful sifting of the unique facts and circumstances of each case" necessary in determining voluntariness. Schneckloth, 412 U.S. at 233, 93 S.Ct. at 2050, 36 L.Ed.2d at 866. Even if the...