State v. Green
| Citation | 354 P.3d 446,158 Idaho 884 |
| Decision Date | 22 June 2015 |
| Docket Number | No. 41736.,41736. |
| Court | Idaho Supreme Court |
| Parties | STATE of Idaho, Plaintiff–Appellant, v. Alesha Ann GREEN, Defendant–Respondent. |
Hon. Lawrence G. Wasden, Attorney General, Boise, for appellant. Russell J. Spencer argued.
Sara B. Thomas, State Appellate Public Defender, Boise, for respondent. Ben P. McGreevy argued.
The State appeals the district court's order granting a motion to suppress evidence. The defendant, Alesha Green, was stopped in her vehicle and subsequently arrested for driving without a valid driver's license. A search incident to that arrest produced incriminating evidence against her. The district court suppressed the evidence, finding that the arrest was an unreasonable seizure under the Idaho Constitution.
In October 2012, an Ada County Sheriff's officer stopped a vehicle for failing to maintain its lane. The officer identified the driver as Green, and it was subsequently discovered that Green was driving with an invalid driver's license, which Green admitted to knowing. The officer testified at Green's preliminary hearing that he had no reason to believe Green was someone other than who she identified herself to be, nor did the officer have reason to believe Green would not appear for court. Although driving without a valid license in violation of Idaho Code section 49–301 is a misdemeanor offense, according to an Idaho statute it is not an arrestable offense unless certain conditions are met, which were not met here. Nonetheless, the officer arrested Green. The resulting search of Green's person produced alleged drugs and drug paraphernalia. Additionally, a large amount of cash was discovered during the search of Green's vehicle. Once transported to the Ada County Jail, Green made incriminating statements and gave consent to search her hotel room, where police found a digital scale and small plastic bags.
Green was charged with a number of drug-related offenses under two different case numbers. She moved the district court to suppress the evidence found as a result of her arrest in both cases. The district court granted Green's motion, finding that the arrest was "unlawful," therefore violating Green's rights under Article I, Section 17 of the Idaho Constitution. The State timely appealed.
This appeal presents two interrelated issues for decision:
1. Whether a misdemeanor arrest in violation of Idaho Code section 49–1407 is unreasonable under Article I, Section 17 of the Idaho Constitution.
2. If not, must any evidence obtained incident to such an arrest be suppressed.
When reviewing a trial court's ruling on a motion to suppress evidence, this Court defers to the trial court's findings of fact unless clearly erroneous. State v. Donato, 135 Idaho 469, 470, 20 P.3d 5, 6 (2001). However, we exercise free review over whether a constitutional violation has taken place in light of those facts. Id.
The district court found Green's arrest was unreasonable under Article I, Section 17 of the Idaho Constitution because it did not comply with Idaho Code section 49–1407.1 The court reasoned that to hold the arrest in this case was reasonable under the Idaho Constitution would essentially transform Idaho arrest statutes into no more than guidelines the police could freely disregard without risk of suppression. Concluding there was a violation of the Idaho Constitution and that there was not an alternative remedy to deter similar action by police in the future, the district court ordered that the evidence be suppressed.
On appeal, the State argues there is no basis for interpreting the Idaho Constitution differently than the U.S. Constitution with respect to the standards for a reasonable arrest. In support of its position, the State argues (1) the uniqueness of Idaho as a state, which has been one of this Court's reasons for deviating from Fourth Amendment jurisprudence in the past, has no application in the context of arrest standards; (2) the language of the Fourth Amendment and Article I, Section 17 of the Idaho Constitution are nearly identical; and (3) there is no long-standing Idaho jurisprudence that justifies a differing interpretation. The State therefore concludes that, because the arrest was reasonable under the Federal Constitution, it was likewise reasonable under the Idaho Constitution. Green replies that Idaho's long-standing jurisprudence shows Article I, Section 17 is more protective than the Fourth Amendment where there is a violation of state law that impacts constitutional rights. We agree with the State and hold that there has been no constitutional violation here. We further hold that suppression is not the appropriate remedy for statutory violations that do not amount to constitutional violations.
The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that "[t]he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated." Article I, Section 17 of the Idaho Constitution nearly identically guarantees that "[t]he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated." Warrantless searches and seizures are presumptively unreasonable under both the federal and Idaho constitutions unless they come within one of the established exceptions to the warrant requirement. California v. Acevedo, 500 U.S. 565, 580, 111 S.Ct. 1982, 1991, 114 L.Ed.2d 619, 634 (1991) ; State v. Henderson, 114 Idaho 293, 295, 756 P.2d 1057, 1059 (1988).
One such exception under both state and federal law allows officers, incident to a lawful arrest, to search the arrestee's person and the area within the arrestee's immediate control. Chimel v. California, 395 U.S. 752, 762–63, 89 S.Ct. 2034, 2039–40, 23 L.Ed.2d 685, 693–94 (1969) ; State v. Pruss, 145 Idaho 623, 628, 181 P.3d 1231, 1236 (2008). In the context of the Federal Constitution and its interpreting case law, an arrest is "lawful" if "officers have probable cause to believe that a person has committed a crime in their presence" even if such an arrest does not comply with state statutes governing arrests. Virginia v. Moore, 553 U.S. 164, 174–78, 128 S.Ct. 1598, 1605–08, 170 L.Ed.2d 559, 569–72 (2008). Individual states are free to interpret their own constitutions as providing greater protection to citizens and greater limitation on police conduct than does the Federal Constitution. Id. at 172, 128 S.Ct. at 1604–05, 170 L.Ed.2d at 568 ; Donato, 135 Idaho at 472, 20 P.3d at 8. We recently stated in CDA Dairy Queen, Inc. v. State Insurance Fund that, absent "clear precedent or circumstances unique to the state of Idaho or its constitution" that would justify finding Idaho's constitution to have a meaning different from that of the Federal Constitution, the "Court will use federal rules and methodology" to interpret the Idaho Constitution. 154 Idaho 379, 384, 299 P.3d 186, 191 (2013). However, in some instances, we have found Idaho's Constitution deserving of a unique interpretation "based on the uniqueness of our state, our Constitution, and our long-standing jurisprudence."2 Donato, 135 Idaho at 472, 20 P.3d at 8. A similarity in language and purpose between the Fourth Amendment and Article I, Section 17 of the Idaho Constitution does not require this Court to follow Fourth Amendment jurisprudence in interpreting the Idaho Constitution. Id. at 471, 20 P.3d at 7.
Green admitted to the officer that she knew she was driving without a valid driver's license. Therefore, having witnessed Green driving the vehicle, the police officer had probable cause to believe Green had committed an offense in the officer's presence.3 This means the resulting arrest was "lawful" as far as complying with the Federal Constitution. However, the arrest did not comply with Idaho Code section 49–1407, which provides that only a citation may be given for Green's violation under the circumstances. The question then becomes whether an arrest that complies with the Federal Constitution because it was made based on probable cause, but that does not comply with an Idaho statute governing arrest, is "lawful" in the context of Article I, Section 17 of the Idaho Constitution.
Provisions of the Idaho Constitution must be construed in light of the law prior to their adoption. Higer v. Hansen, 67 Idaho 45, 55, 170 P.2d 411, 416 (1946) ; see also Idaho Const. art. XXI, § 2 (); State v. Mathews, 129 Idaho 865, 869, 934 P.2d 931, 935 (1997) (). Because the constitutional guarantee against unreasonable seizure of the person includes an arrest, the Idaho Constitution incorporated the principles regarding arrest in the Idaho statutory and common law in 1890 when the constitution was adopted. At that time, the law governing warrantless arrests by peace officers in Idaho was found in Title III, Chapter V, Section 7540 of the Idaho Revised Statutes, which provided:
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State v. Green, 41736.
...158 Idaho 884354 P.3d 446STATE of Idaho, Plaintiff–Appellantv.Alesha Ann GREEN, Defendant–Respondent.No. 41736.Supreme Court of Idaho, Lewiston, April 2015 Term.June 22, 2015.354 P.3d 447Hon. Lawrence G. Wasden, Attorney General, Boise, for appellant. Russell J. Spencer argued.Sara B. Thoma......