State v. Hansen
| Decision Date | 14 December 2000 |
| Docket Number | No. 990987-CA.,990987-CA. |
| Citation | 2000 UT App 353,17 P.3d 1135 |
| Parties | STATE of Utah, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. Shayne M. HANSEN, Defendant and Appellant. |
| Court | Utah Court of Appeals |
Linda M. Jones and Otis Sterling, III, Salt Lake Legal Defender Association, Salt Lake City, for appellant.
Jan Graham, Atty. Gen., and Jeffrey S. Gray, Assistant Attorney General, Salt Lake City, for appellee.
Before GREENWOOD, P.J., DAVIS and ORME, JJ.
¶ 1 Defendant Shayne Michael Hansen (Hansen) appeals his conviction for illegal possession of a controlled substance, a third degree felony, in violation of Utah Code Ann. § 58-37-8(2)(a)(i) (1998).
¶ 2 On December 11, 1998, Officer Bruce Huntington of the Midvale City Police Department was driving behind Hansen. Officer Huntington initiated a computer check of Hansen's vehicle with the Utah Division of Motor Vehicles. While Officer Huntington waited for the results of the computer check, he observed Hansen make an improper left turn.1 After Officer Huntington observed the turn, the computer check revealed that Hansen's car was uninsured. Due to these violations, Officer Huntington decided to stop the vehicle, and he activated his overhead emergency lights. Hansen pulled off the road and stopped in the parking lot of a convenience store. Officer Huntington parked directly behind Hansen.2
¶ 3 Officer Huntington, dressed in uniform and carrying a sidearm, exited his patrol car and confronted Hansen. Officer Huntington told Hansen that he stopped him because of the improper lane change and lack of insurance. Hansen admitted that the did not have any insurance and stated that he could not afford insurance. Officer Huntington requested Hansen's driver's license and registration, and returned to his patrol car to run a computer check on Hansen. After approximately five minutes, the computer check revealed that Hansen's license was valid, and Hansen did not have any outstanding warrants. Officer Huntington then exited his patrol car and returned to Hansen. While Officer Huntington was walking back to Hansen's vehicle, another officer pulled into the parking lot. This second officer parked next to Officer Huntington's car, got out of his patrol car, and remained by the patrol cars. The emergency lights on both patrol cars were flashing, and they remained flashing throughout the encounter.
¶ 4 Upon returning to Hansen's vehicle, Officer Huntington told Hansen that state law required him to have automobile insurance, and Hansen needed to have an insurance agent mail proof of insurance to the Division of Motor Vehicles. Officer Huntington did not say anything to Hansen regarding the improper lane change. Officer Huntington then returned Hansen's driver's license and registration; however, Officer Huntington did not tell Hansen that he was free to leave. Instead, Officer Huntington asked Hansen if he had any alcohol, weapons, or drugs in his vehicle. Hansen replied that he did not have any such items. Officer Huntington then asked Hansen, "Do you mind if I check?"3 Officer Huntington testified that Hansen responded, "Yes."4
¶ 5 Officer Huntington then told Hansen and his passenger to step out of the car, and Officer Huntington directed them to stand next to the other officer. Officer Huntington conducted a search of the car where he found a homemade billy club and a marijuana pipe on the floor of the driver's area of the car. Officer Huntington arrested Hansen and searched him incident to the arrest. During the search of Hansen, Officer Huntington found a substance he suspected to be methamphetamine. Hansen was later charged with possession of a controlled substance in violation of Utah Code Ann. § 58-37-8(2)(a)(i) (1998), and unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia in violation of Utah Code Ann. § 58-37a-5 (1998).
¶ 6 Prior to trial, Hansen moved to suppress evidence obtained in the searches, claiming that Officer Huntington illegally detained him and that he did not voluntarily consent to the search of his car. The trial court denied Hansen's motion to suppress, concluding that the evidence was lawfully seized because "[a]t the time consent was obtained, there was no seizure for Fourth Amendment purposes because defendant was free to leave," and "[d]efendant's consent to search was freely and voluntarily given." Hansen later entered a conditional guilty plea to unlawful possession of a controlled substance. Hansen now appeals the trial court's denial of his motion to suppress.
¶ 7 Hansen alleges that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress because Officer Huntington's search violated his Fourth Amendment right against unreasonable searches and seizures. Specifically, Hansen argues that his consent to search was not valid because it was obtained through Officer Huntington's exploitation of an illegal seizure, and his consent was not voluntarily given.5
[B]ecause the determination of whether an encounter with law enforcement officers constitutes a seizure under the Fourth Amendment "`"calls for consistent application from one police encounter to the next, regardless of the particular individual's response to the actions of the police,"'" such determination is a legal conclusion that we review for correctness.
Salt Lake City v. Ray, 2000 UT App 55, ¶ 8, 998 P.2d 274 (citations omitted). Similarly, the trial court's ultimate conclusion that consent was voluntary or involuntary is reviewed for correctness. See State v. Thurman, 846 P.2d 1256, 1271 (Utah 1993)
. However, "[T]he trial court's underlying factual findings will not be set aside unless they are found to be clearly erroneous." Id.
¶ 8 Hansen argues that the trial court erred in its conclusion that, at the time the consent was obtained, there was no seizure for Fourth Amendment purposes because Hansen was free to leave.
The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution guarantees the "right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures." U.S. Const. amend. IV. The United States Supreme Court has held that "stopping an automobile and detaining its occupants constitute[s] a seizure" within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment, "even though the purpose of the stop is limited and the resulting detention quite brief." Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648, 653, 99 S.Ct. 1391, 59 L.Ed.2d 660 (1979). Thus, "[a]lthough a person has a lesser expectation of privacy in a car than in his or her home, one does not lose the protection of the Fourth Amendment while in an automobile." State v. Schlosser, 774 P.2d 1132, 1135 (Utah 1989) (citation omitted).
State v. Lopez, 873 P.2d 1127, 1131 (Utah 1994) (alteration in original).
¶ 9 "In reviewing the legality of a traffic stop, we consider two questions: `[W]hether the officer's action was justified at its inception, and whether it was reasonably related in scope to the circumstances which justified the interference in the first place.'" State v. Patefield, 927 P.2d 655, 657 (Utah Ct.App.1996) (alteration in original) (quoting Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 20, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 1879, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968)); accord Lopez, 873 P.2d at 1131-32
. With respect to the first question, a police officer is constitutionally justified in stopping a vehicle if the stop is "incident to a traffic violation committed in the officers' presence." State v. Talbot, 792 P.2d 489, 491 (Utah Ct.App.1990); see also State v. Marshall, 791 P.2d 880, 881-83 (Utah Ct.App.1990); State v. Sierra, 754 P.2d 972, 975 (Utah Ct.App.1988).
¶ 10 Here, Hansen was seized by Officer Huntington when he was stopped for the improper lane change and lack of insurance. It is clear that Officer Huntington was justified in seizing Hansen because Hansen committed two traffic violations in the officer's presence. Consequently, Hansen does not dispute the legality of the initial stop and the first part of the Terry inquiry is not at issue.
State v. Robinson, 797 P.2d 431, 435 (Utah Ct.App.1990)
¶ 12 Here, Hansen claims that he was illegally seized at the time the alleged consent was obtained because Officer Huntington engaged in investigative questioning without reasonable suspicion of more serious criminal activity. The State counters that when Officer Huntington gave Hansen a warning and returned his license and registration, the encounter between Officer Huntington and Hansen...
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