State v. Lane
| Decision Date | 19 January 2007 |
| Docket Number | No. 04-1147.,04-1147. |
| Parties | STATE of Iowa, Appellee, v. James Alan LANE, Appellant. |
| Court | Iowa Supreme Court |
Linda Del Gallo, State Appellate Defender, and Martha J. Lucey, Assistant State Appellate Defender, for appellant.
Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, Richard J. Bennett, Assistant Attorney General, Steve Johnson, County Attorney, and Scott Nicholson, Assistant County Attorney, for appellee.
In this appeal we must primarily decide if evidence obtained from a consent search at one location that followed an illegal search and seizure at another location must be suppressed. The district court denied the motion to suppress. On our review, we conclude the district court properly admitted the evidence at trial. We also conclude trial counsel was not ineffective in representing the defendant. We affirm the judgment and sentence of the district court.
James Lane was arrested on February 11, 2004 and charged with two counts of possession of more than five grams of methamphetamine with intent to deliver in violation of Iowa Code section 124.401(1)(b)(7) (2003) and two counts of failure to affix a drug tax stamp in violation of Iowa Code sections 453B.3 and 453B.12. Prior to trial, Lane filed a motion to suppress the evidence seized by the State. The facts relevant to the motion were presented at a hearing and at trial. These circumstances form the basis of the pertinent facts in this appeal.
While on patrol, Jasper County deputy sheriff John Pohlman observed Brian Hammer operate a motor vehicle. Pohlman knew Hammer was barred from driving by the Department of Transportation, and that his actions constituted a misdemeanor offense. However, before Pohlman was able to take action, Hammer pulled the vehicle to the side of the road and stopped. Hammer then exited the vehicle and a passenger moved into the driver's seat and drove away. Pohlman pursued the vehicle in order to obtain the license plate number. After obtaining this information, Pohlman returned to the area where Hammer exited the vehicle, and observed him enter a detached garage at John Hoffert's residence.
Pohlman pulled into a nearby driveway to keep surveillance on the garage, and called Lieutenant Fred Oster for backup. Oster arrived within five minutes. Pohlman and Oster then approached the garage to arrest Hammer for driving while barred.
A person later identified as Hedlund was in the process of leaving the garage just as the officers were approaching it. When Hedlund saw the officers, he turned around, reentered the garage and exclaimed, "It's the cops." The officers quickened their approach and entered the garage through the door left open by Hedlund. Upon entering the garage, the officers found Hedlund, Hammer, and Lane. Neither Oster nor Pohlman knew Lane was in the garage, although they knew Lane was sometimes present on the Hoffert property.
Lane was standing at a workbench where there were assorted plastic bags, a knife, a piece of sheet metal, and other tools. Oster saw Lane grab a plastic bag from the workbench, shove it into a large thermal mug, and throw the mug into a bucket on the floor. The officers secured Hedlund, Hammer and Lane in the garage. They immediately placed Hammer under arrest.
Oster looked into the bucket and observed a plastic bag protruding from the mug. Oster lifted the mug and determined the plastic bag contained methamphetamine. The mug also contained digital scales. Oster had prior information that Lane was a large-scale methamphetamine dealer in Jasper County, and carried a large thermal mug to hide, store, and transport methamphetamine. During this time, Lane asked Oster if he had a warrant. Oster responded by asking Lane if he had just graduated from law school, and after Lane replied in the negative, Oster showed Lane his badge and said it gave him the right to do anything he wanted.
The officers placed Lane under arrest, and transported him to jail. Pohlman sought a warrant to search the garage. In the meantime, Oster requested assistance at the scene to provide security in anticipation of obtaining a warrant. Three reserve officers and another deputy responded.
While securing the garage, Oster observed Cathy Hogan driving down the street. Hogan is Lane's girlfriend, and Oster knew she was a drug user. She resided in a house, along with Lane, located less than one-half of a block from the Hoffert garage on the opposite side of the street. Hogan and Lane lived in the rented upstairs portion of the house and shared a bedroom. After Hogan arrived at her residence, Oster and the three reserve officers walked to the house. Oster testified he would not have been at Lane's residence had he not made the arrest of Lane earlier, and that his only purpose in going to the house was to ask for Hogan's consent to search it. Oster knocked on the door of the residence. Hogan's daughter answered the door, let Oster inside, and called for her mother. Hogan came down the stairs and met Oster.
Oster informed Hogan that Lane was under arrest for intent to deliver methamphetamine. Hogan and Oster had a further discussion at the kitchen table downstairs. At this time, Hogan signed a consent to search form that allowed the police to search the upstairs portion of the residence.
Hogan then led Oster upstairs to search the bedroom. Oster found drug paraphernalia specifically for methamphetamine as well as a tan lockbox located on the floor in the center of the room. Oster asked Hogan if she knew who owned the lockbox. She indicated it belonged to Lane. Hogan did not have a key to open the box.
Oster later questioned Lane about the box after advising him of his Miranda rights. Lane acknowledged the box was his, and he told Oster the box contained a half a pound of methamphetamine. Oster was eventually able to open the box after Lane told him where he could find the key. When Oster opened the box, he found a large plastic bag containing over three hundred grams of methamphetamine.
The motion to suppress filed by Lane claimed the initial entry and search of the garage was unlawful and tainted all subsequent searches and seizures, making them unlawful as well. The district court granted Lane's motion in part and denied it in part. The court suppressed the evidence obtained from the warrantless entry and search of the garage. It concluded the entry was illegal because the officers were not in hot pursuit and exigent circumstances were not present. Regarding the evidence obtained from the subsequent consent search of the residence, the court determined that so long as Hogan's consent was voluntary it provided a lawful means of obtaining the evidence. As a result, the district court allowed this evidence to be introduced at trial, concluding the search was legal because Hogan had voluntarily given her consent.
The case proceeded to trial on one count of possession of more than five grams of methamphetamine with the intent to deliver and one count of failure to affix a drug tax stamp. These charges arose out of the drugs found in Lane's residence.
This appeal presents two issues. First, Lane alleges the district court erroneously denied his motion to suppress. Second, he claims ineffective assistance of counsel. We discuss each issue in turn.
Lane claims the district court should have granted his motion to suppress on federal and state constitutional grounds. Therefore, our review is de novo. State v. Freeman, 705 N.W.2d 293, 297 (Iowa 2005). This review requires "`an independent evaluation of the totality of the circumstances as shown by the entire record.'" State v. Turner, 630 N.W.2d 601, 606 (Iowa 2001) (quoting State v. Howard, 509 N.W.2d 764, 767 (Iowa 1993)). In doing so, we give deference to the factual findings of the district court due to its opportunity to evaluate the credibility of the witnesses, but are not bound by such findings. Id.
Lane's motion to suppress sought to exclude evidence obtained not only after consent to search was obtained, but also after an initial police illegality. In State v. Reinier, 628 N.W.2d 460, 467-68 n. 3 (Iowa 2001), we stated the following:
When a claim of consensual search is preceded by illegal police action ..., the government must not only show the voluntariness of the subsequent consent under the totality of the circumstances, but must also establish a break in the illegal action and the evidence subsequently obtained under the so-called "fruit of the poisonous tree" doctrine.
(Citations omitted.) Thus, there are two issues to analyze in a consent-to-search case such as this: (1) voluntariness under the totality of the circumstances, and (2) exploitation under the fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine. Id. See generally 4 Wayne R. LaFave, Search and Seizure § 8.2, at 50-141 (4th ed.2004) [hereinafter LaFave] (discussing the validity of consent). We are reminded the two questions are not the same, and "consequently the evidence obtained by the purported consent should be held admissible only if it is determined that the consent was both voluntary and not an exploitation of the prior illegality." LaFave § 8.2(d), at 76.1
The analysis by the district court only considered the question of voluntariness. It determined "if [Hogan's] consent was voluntarily given, the Fourth Amendment is not implicated." On our review, we apply both tests to decide if Hogan's consent was voluntary and not an exploitation of the prior illegality.
The State has the burden to prove the consent was voluntary, see Reinier, 628 N.W.2d at 465, and voluntariness is a "question of fact to be determined from the totality of all the circumstances," Schneckloth v. Bustamonte, 412 U.S. 218, 226, 93 S.Ct. 2041, 2047, 36 L.Ed.2d 854, 862 (1973). The...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
United States v. Cordero-Rosario
...search that yielded the images and cannot be said to be the result of ‘detached reflection.’ " Id. at 37 (quoting State of Iowa v. Lane, 726 N.W.2d 371, 386 (Iowa 2007) ).The Court adopts Magistrate Judge Carreño–Coll's finding that Martorell's consent was obtained in exploitation of the il......
-
State v. Hauge
...whether the prosecution met its burden to prove the consent was voluntary with no one factor being determinative. State v. Lane , 726 N.W.2d 371, 378 (Iowa 2007). These factors includepersonal characteristics of the [consenter], such as age, education, intelligence, sobriety, and experience......
-
State v. Morlock
...because it is directly tied to the goal of the exclusionary rule, which is deterring police misconduct. State v. Lane, 726 N.W.2d 371, 388 (Iowa 2007) (plurality opinion). The goal is to prevent "exploitation of [the] illegality" by police. Wong Sun, 371 U.S. at 488, 83 S.Ct. 407. Therefore......
-
State v. McGee
...to establish the consent was voluntary by a preponderance of the evidence.’ " (citations omitted) (first quoting State v. Lane , 726 N.W.2d 371, 378 (Iowa 2007) ; and then quoting State v. Reinier , 628 N.W.2d 460, 465 (Iowa 2001) (en banc))). Plainly, consent is not created by law—it arise......