State v. Iven, S–2013–824.

• Decision Date: 25 July 2014
• Docket Number: No. S–2013–824.,S–2013–824.
• Citation: 2014 OK CR 8,335 P.3d 264
• Parties: The STATE of Oklahoma, Appellant, v. Wade Matthew IVEN, Appellee.
• Court: United States State Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma. Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma

335 P.3d 264

2014 OK CR 8

The STATE of Oklahoma, Appellant

v.Wade Matthew IVEN, Appellee.

No. S–2013–824.

Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma.

July 25, 2014.

Eric N. Edwards, Enid, OK, counsel for defendant at trial.

Barry Retherford, Assistant District Attorney, Blaine County District Attorney's Office, Blaine County Courthouse, Watonga, OK, counsel for appellant/state at trial and appeal.

James L. Hankins, Timberbrooke Business Center, Edmond, OK, counsel for appellee on appeal.

SUMMARY OPINION

SMITH, Vice Presiding Judge.

¶ 1 Wade Matthew Iven is charged with one count of Kidnapping in violation of 21 O.S.2011, § 741 (Count 1), one count of Endeavoring to Commit an Act of Violence in violation of 21 O.S.2011, § 1378 (Count 2), Assault with a Dangerous Weapon in violation of 21 O.S.2011, § 645 (Count 3), and Domestic Abuse in violation of 21 O.S.2011, § 644(C) (Count 4), in the District Court of Blaine County, Case No. CF–2012–84. Iven was bound over at preliminary hearing. Thereafter, Iven filed a Motion to Suppress, and to Quash and/or Set Aside Information. After a hearing, the Honorable Paul K. Woodward granted the defendant's motion to suppress. The State appeals raising three propositions.

I. A police officer may rely on the instructions of another officer in stopping a vehicle, and effectuating an arrest, even though the officer conducting the stop and arrest is not privy to all of the facts amounting to probable cause for the arrest .

II. The “collective knowledge doctrine” applies to misdemeanor arrests, including arrests for domestic abuse-assault & battery, as equally as felony arrests .

III. Wherea motion to suppress evidence is interposed by the appellee, the burden of proof is on the proponent of the motion .

¶ 2 The charges against Iven stem from his arrest for a single misdemeanor count of domestic abuse. Although the record is sparse, it is sufficient to address the very narrow question presented. Deputy Craig Smith of the Blaine County Sheriff's department was dispatched to a call of an on-going domestic dispute. O.R. 34–35. Also responding to the call were Deputy Lonnie Spiva and Officer Buddy King from the Okeene Police Department. O.R. 38, 84. Within ten minutes of receiving the call, Deputy Smith and Officer King arrived in the area and located the alleged victim, B.H., hiding in a trash trailer near the airport.

¶ 3 Still visibly shaken and crying, B.H. described being involved in an altercation with Iven as they were driving down the road. They had been in a dating relationship. During the altercation, she managed to jump from the moving vehicle and run into a field. Deputy Smith personally observed recent physical injuries to B.H. including blood on her nose and under her eye, swelling to the left side of her mouth, and bruises and abrasions on her arms and legs. Deputy Spiva did not respond to the victim's location and, instead, attempted to locate Iven. Iven was found near a car wash in Okeene and was arrested for domestic abuse approximately one hour after the initial call was received by police. The arrest was made at the request of Deputy Smith and based on information known to him. Further investigation after the arrest led to additional charges.

¶ 4 Iven filed a motion to suppress arguing, inter alia, that because Deputy Spiva neither personally observed the recent injuries to the alleged victim nor was he aware of the existence of such injuries through information communicated by another officer, Iven's arrest for domestic abuse was invalid under Section 196(6) of Title 22. The State urged that the collective knowledge doctrine could be applied to justify Iven's warrantless arrest for domestic abuse. In response, Iven did not dispute the general applicability of the doctrine, but argued that because information known to Deputy Smith was not actually communicated to Deputy Spiva, the arrest was unlawful.

¶ 5 The court found that Deputy Smith did personally observe recent physical injury to the alleged victim. Although there was some dispute as to whether Deputy Smith actually relayed information concerning the injury to Deputy Spiva, the trial court made a factual finding that Deputy Smith did not do so. Because this information was not communicated, the trial court found the collective knowledge doctrine could not operate to justify the arrest under Section 196(6). Concluding that Iven's arrest was unlawful, the court suppressed evidence derived therefrom.

¶ 6 The State appeals under the authority of 22 O.S.2011, § 1053(5) and asserts that the suppressed evidence forms a substantial part of the State's evidence and the State's ability to prosecute Iven is substantially impaired absent the suppressed evidence. Appellate review is, therefore, in the best interests of justice. State v. Sayerwinnie, 2007 OK CR 11, ¶ 6, 157 P.3d 137, 139. This Court reviews the trial court's ruling on Iven's motion to suppress for an abuse of discretion. State v. Ramos, 2013 OK CR 3, ¶ 14, 297 P.3d 1251, 1254. An abuse of discretion is any unreasonable or arbitrary action taken without proper consideration of the facts and law pertaining to the issue; a clearly erroneous conclusion and judgment, clearly against the logic and effect of the facts. Neloms v. State, 2012 OK CR 7, ¶ 35, 274 P.3d 161, 170. Here, the trial court abused its discretion and the State's request for relief should be granted.

¶ 7 Before reaching the merits of the legality of Iven's arrest, we must first address two preliminary questions; the first being which party bears the burden of establishing the legality of a misdemeanor arrest challenged, not on constitutional grounds, but under Section 196 of Title 22. In Proposition III, the State contends that the trial court erroneously placed the burden on the State to demonstrate legality of the warrantless arrest.

¶ 8 In the context of a constitutional challenge to the legality of a warrantless search or seizure, we have recognized that the State bears the burden to establish that the search or seizure was lawful. Delgarza–Alzaga v. State, 2001 OK CR 30, ¶ 4, 36 P.3d 454, 455 ; State v. McLemore, 1977 OK CR 24, ¶ 8, 561 P.2d 1367, 1369. The burden lies with the State at a suppression hearing because warrantless searches and seizures are presumptively unreasonable under the State and Federal Constitutions. Delgarza–Alzaga, 2001 OK CR 30, ¶ 4, 36 P.3d at 455 ; Blackburn v. State, 1978 OK CR 24, ¶¶ 21, 23, 575 P.2d 638, 642.

¶ 9 Our decisions in the area of constitutional challenges do not necessarily answer the question in the present case. Here we must determine who bears the burden when the lawfulness of a warrantless misdemeanor arrest is challenged under statute. This is a question we have not squarely addressed. Section 196 of Title 22 governs warrantless arrests and strictly limits the circumstances under which a warrantless misdemeanor arrest is permitted. 22 O.S.2011, § 196. Absent one of the enumerated exceptions, a warrant must be obtained to arrest a person for a misdemeanor offense. In this manner, Section 196 operates much like constitutional guarantees which create a preference for a judicial determination of probable cause. Because Section 196, provides only limited exceptions authorizing a warrantless misdemeanor arrest, the burden should be on the State to prove that a challenged arrest falls within a statutory exception. C.f., Davis v. State, 1979 OK CR 40, ¶ 4, 594 P.2d 1229, 1231 (noting that it was the State's burden to prove compliance with statutorily mandated maintenance requirements for a breathalyzer). We therefore conclude that the trial court properly placed the burden on the State to justify the warrantless misdemeanor arrest.

¶ 10 As a second preliminary matter, we must determine whether the “collective knowledge” doctrine can be applied in the present case. The rule for imputing knowledge from one officer to another is known variously as the “collective-knowledge” doctrine or the “fellow-officer” rule. United States v. Chavez, 534 F.3d 1338, 1345 (10th Cir.2008). Generally stated, the doctrine allows an officer to stop, arrest, or search a suspect in limited circumstances, even if the officer does not have firsthand knowledge of all of the facts that amount to reasonable suspicion or probable cause to justify the action. This principle derives from the recognition that law enforcement officers must be permitted to work collectively in the performance of their duties and act on directions and information given by one officer to another. United States v. Duval, 742 F.3d 246, 253 (6th Cir.2014).

¶ 11 In the proceedings below, the parties and the trial court implicitly believed that, as a general principle, the collective knowledge doctrine could apply in determining the validity of an arrest claimed to be unlawful under statute. In this appeal, the State notes that the Tenth Circuit in United States v. Wilkinson, 633 F.3d 938 (10th Cir.2011) extended the application of the doctrine to stops for misdemeanor offenses and argues that the trial court incorrectly applied the doctrine in the case at bar. However, as an alternative basis to uphold the court's suppression of evidence, Iven argues for the first time on appeal, that the doctrine cannot apply to the statutory challenge at issue here. He asserts that the collective knowledge doctrine is a product of constitutional challenges brought under the Fourth Amendment and states are free to impose greater restrictions on police conduct. He argues that the Legislature elected to impose such a greater restriction by the plain language of Section 196(6). Although not previously raised, we must consider this question as a preliminary matter.

¶ 12 In relevant part, Section 196 provides that a peace officer may, without a warrant, arrest a person “[a]nywhere, including a place of residence of the person, if the peace officer has probable cause to believe the person within the preceding seventy-two (72) hours has committed an...