State v. Lawrence

• Citation: 817 So.2d 1216
• Decision Date: 08 May 2002
• Docket Number: No. 2002-K-0363.,2002-K-0363.
• Parties: STATE of Louisiana v. James LAWRENCE.
• Court: Court of Appeal of Louisiana (US)

817 So.2d 1216

STATE of Louisiana v. James LAWRENCE.

No. 2002-K-0363.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit.

May 8, 2002.

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Harry F. Connick, District Attorney, Kellie Rish, Assistant District Attorney, New Orleans, Louisiana, for the State.

Court composed of Chief Judge WILLIAM H. BYRNES, III, Judge STEVEN R. PLOTKIN, and Judge JAMES F. MCKAY III.

WILLIAM H. BYRNES, III, Judge.

The State of Louisiana requests a review of the trial court's ruling that granted the defendant, James Lawrence's motion to suppress the evidence. We reverse and remand.

At issue is whether the officers seized the drugs without a prior unlawful intrusion into Lawrence's right to be free from governmental interference. The question is whether the officers had probable cause to arrest, or reasonable suspicion for an investigatory stop, and whether lawfully Detective Murray asked Lawrence to raise his shirt. When Lawrence complied, the officers saw the plastic bag containing white powder, and the police seized the evidence.

Standard of Review

The appellate court reviews the district court's findings of fact on a motion to suppress under a clearly erroneous standard, and will review the district court's ultimate determination of Fourth Amendment reasonableness de novo. U.S. v. Seals, 987 F.2d 1102 (5 Cir.1993), cert denied, 510 U.S. 853, 114 S.Ct. 155, 126 L.Ed.2d 116 (1993). On mixed questions of law and fact, the appellate court reviews the underlying facts on an abuse of discretion standard, but reviews conclusions to be drawn from those facts de novo. United States v. O'Keefe, 128 F.3d 885 (5 Cir.1997), cert. denied, 523 U.S. 1078, 118 S.Ct. 1525, 140 L.Ed.2d 676 (1998). An appellate court reviews the district court's determinations of reasonable suspicion and probable cause de novo. U.S. v. Green, 111 F.3d 515 (7 Cir.1997), cert. denied sub nom. Green v. U.S., 522 U.S. 973, 118 S.Ct. 427, 139 L.Ed.2d 328 (1997). Where the facts are not in dispute, the reviewing court must consider whether the trial court came to the proper legal determination under the undisputed facts. Maryland Cas. Co. v. Dixie Ins. Co., 622 So.2d 698 (La.App. 1 Cir.1993), writ denied 629 So.2d 1138 (La.1993).

Probable Cause to Arrest

La.C.Cr.P. art. 213 provides in pertinent part:

A peace officer may, without a warrant, arrest a person when:

(1) The person to be arrested has committed an offense in his presence; and if the arrest is for a misdemeanor, it must be made immediately or in close pursuit;

(2) The person to be arrested has committed a felony, although not in the presence of the officer;

(3) The peace officer has reasonable cause to believe that the person to be arrested has committed an offense, although not in the presence of the officer;

...

It is not a prerequisite for the existence of probable cause to make an arrest that the police officers know at the time of the arrest that the particular crime has definitely been committed; it is sufficient that it is reasonably probable that the crime has been committed under the totality of the known circumstances. State v. Gates, 24,995 (La.App. 2 Cir. 1/19/94), 630 So.2d 1345, writ denied sub nom. Gates v. Jones, 94-0640 (La.6/17/94), 638 So.2d 1091. An arresting officer need only have a reasonable basis for believing that his information and conclusions are correct. Rodriguez v. Deen, 33,308 (La.App. 2 Cir. 5/10/00), 759 So.2d 1032, writ denied, 2000-1414 (La.6/23/00), 765 So.2d 1049. For an arrest, the law does not require that "reasonable cause to believe" be established by evidence sufficient to convict; the arresting officer need not be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt of the arrested person's guilt. La.C.Cr.P. art. 213; State v. Weinberg, 364 So.2d 964 (La.1978). The standard of reasonable cause to believe is a lesser degree of proof than beyond a reasonable doubt, determined by the setting in which the arrest took place, together with the facts and circumstances known to the arresting officer from which he might draw conclusions warranted by his training and experience. Id.

Probable cause for an arrest must be judged by the probabilities and practical considerations of everyday life in which average people, and particularly average police officers, can be expected to act. State v. Franklin, 598 So.2d 1147 (La.App. 1 Cir.1992), writ denied, 604 So.2d 1317 (La.1992). The reputation of the area is an articulable fact upon which a police officer may legitimately rely. Id. The determination of probable cause, unlike the determination of guilt at trial, does not require the fine resolution of conflicting evidence that a reasonable doubt or near a preponderance standard demands. State v. Green, 98-1021 (La.App. 4 Cir. 12/22/99), 750 So.2d 343, writ denied, 96-2610 (La.6/20/97), 695 So.2d 1348. State v. Short, 96-1069 (La.App. 4 Cir. 5/7/97), 694 So.2d 549. Deference should be given to the experience of the police who were present at the time of the incident. Id. The fundamental philosophy behind the probable cause requirement of the Fourth Amendment is that common rumor or report is not an adequate basis for the arrest of a person. State v. Fisher, 97-1133 (La.9/9/98), 720 So.2d 1179. Police are not required to arrest an individual at the point at which probable cause for arrest arises. State v. Coleman, 412 So.2d 532 (La.1982).

In State v. Wartberg, 586 So.2d 627 (La.App. 4 Cir.1991), this court noted that any person who is suspected of dealing drugs is probably armed with a weapon and officers need not refer to specific particular facts concerning the danger to their safety.

In State v. Page, 95-2401, p. 10, (La. App. 4 Cir. 8/21/96), 680 So.2d 700, 709, writ denied 96-2352 (La.2/21/97), 688 So.2d 522 this Court discussed the warrantless entry into a protected area:

There is justified intrusion of a protected area if there is probable cause to arrest and exigent circumstances. State v. Rudolph, 369 So.2d 1320, 1326 (La. 1979), cert. denied, Rudolph v. Louisiana, 454 U.S. 1142, 102 S.Ct. 1001, 71 L.Ed.2d 294 (1982). Exigent circumstances are exceptional circumstances which, when coupled with probable cause, justify an entry into a "protected" area that, without those exceptional circumstances, would be unlawful. Examples of exigent circumstances have been found to be escape of the defendant, avoidance of a possible violent confrontation that could cause injury to the officers and the public, and the destruction of evidence. State v. Hathaway, 411 So.2d 1074, 1079 (La.1982). [Emphasis added.]

In the present case, considering that Lawrence was in an area in the bar where other people were present, exigent circumstances existed.

In State v. Zayas, 93-1473 (La.App. 4 Cir. 5/26/94), 637 So.2d 1237, the police officer had probable cause to arrest the defendant and codefendant charged with possession of cocaine. The search of the co-defendant's bag of potato chips was lawful, where the police had information for a confidential informant about the defendant, his operating procedure, and address where drug trafficking had occurred a week earlier, and where the defendant and co-defendant appeared to be carrying out a drug transaction similar to the transaction observed a week before the arrest.

In State v. Shelton, 96-2322 (La.App. 4 Cir. 10/30/96), 682 So.2d 338, the police officers who observed the defendant and another individual conduct hand transactions in an area known for frequent drug activity and observed the defendant place a clear plastic bag in his front shirt pocket when he saw the officer, had probable cause to make a warrantless arrest of the defendant and search the defendant pursuant to the arrest. U.S.C. Const.Amend. 4; La.C.Cr.P. art. 213.

In State v. Davis, 612 So.2d 1052 (La. App. 4 Cir.1993), an officer who was in an area known for drug trafficking, saw a defendant showing a matchbox to another person. The officer had probable cause to arrest the defendant where the officer knew that matchboxes are commonly used to carry cocaine.

In the present case, Detective Wayne Jacque testified that on May 10, 2001,¹ the officers received a tip from the confidential informant that drug transactions were taking place at the Voodoo Bar. The confidential informant was known to the officers, and his past information led to arrests and convictions. On the date the officers received the tip, the officers set up a surveillance in and outside of the Voodoo Bar. Based on their experience, the officers had justifiable reason to believe that Lawrence was involved in drug activity because some of the officers saw Lawrence engaged in two different transactions with two other individuals. Outside the bar, Detective Murray saw Lawrence converse with an individual and then hand that person a small object. Inside the bar, Detective Lemoine saw Lawrence converse with another individual and then hand that person a clear plastic bag with a white powdered substance. Under the totality of circumstances was reasonable for the officers to believe that Lawrence had committed a felony when they observed Lawrence conducting two hand-to-hand drug transactions. Lawrence was advised of his Miranda rights. Pursuant to La.C.Cr.P. art. 213, the officers had probable cause to arrest Lawrence when they asked him to raise his shirt for their protection. Once Lawrence could be lawfully arrested, the police could search the pouch he was wearing pursuant to that arrest. See Chimel v. California, 395 U.S. 752, 89 S.Ct. 2034, 23 L.Ed.2d 685 (1969); State v. Wilson, 467 So.2d 503 (La.1985), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 911, 106 S.Ct. 281, 88 L.Ed.2d 246, rehearing denied, 474 U.S. 1027, 106 S.Ct. 585, 88 L.Ed.2d 567 (1985); State v. Tasby, 26,103 (La.App. 2 Cir. 6/24/94), 639 So.2d 469, writ denied 94-2256 (La.1/13/95), 648 So.2d 1336.

In the present case, inevitably the police would have found the plastic bag of contraband in a lawful search pursuant to the...