State v. Manning

Decision Date02 October 2015
Docket NumberNo. 14–207.,14–207.
Citation132 A.3d 716
CourtVermont Supreme Court
Parties STATE of Vermont v. Eric K. MANNING.

Rosemary M. Kennedy, Rutland County State's Attorney, Rutland, for PlaintiffAppellee.

Matthew F. Valerio, Defender General, and Anna Saxman, Deputy Defender General, Montpelier, for DefendantAppellant.

Present: REIBER, C.J., DOOLEY, SKOGLUND, ROBINSON and EATON, JJ.

DOOLEY

, J.

¶ 1. Defendant Eric Manning appeals the decision of the Superior Court, Rutland Unit, Criminal Division, denying his motion to suppress evidence, including incriminating statements, obtained during a traffic stop. We affirm.

¶ 2. The trial court record demonstrates the following facts. At 1:01 p.m., on August 12, 2013, a uniformed law enforcement officer driving a marked cruiser pulled into the parking lot of the Hannaford Supermarket in Brandon, Vermont. The officer observed a vehicle parked in the back lot, in the area farthest from the building, where neither patrons nor employees typically park. The back parking lot is known for drug activity, and law enforcement officers often patrol the area. The officer parked his cruiser facing the vehicle but not blocking it in. He ran a registration check on the vehicle and discovered the license of the registered owner, defendant, was under suspension.

¶ 3. The officer exited the cruiser and approached the vehicle with the intention of verifying the identity of the individual in the driver's seat and informing him that his license was suspended. As the officer approached the vehicle, he observed defendant "shuffle something with his right hand towards the middle of the console area."1 The officer walked toward the passenger side of the vehicle and confirmed the name of defendant and that he was the registered owner of the vehicle. The officer saw a prescription bottle partially hidden under a green shirt between the driver and passenger seats. The officer believed the bottle may have been the item defendant was shuffling around as he approached the vehicle. The officer then asked defendant for his identification and license. Defendant pulled out his wallet, which the officer observed was filled with "an excessive amount of cash just shoved in his wallet and literally falling out of his pockets"; the bills were "scattered around, folded, [and] crunched."2 Defendant's hands were "shaking rapidly," and he was unable to produce his identification. At this point, the officer asked if he could hold the prescription bottle, which defendant handed to him. The officer briefly looked at the bottle, noticed the label was "completely worn" and "faded," and placed the bottle on the roof of the car. The officer then asked defendant where he had come from and why he was in the parking lot. Defendant said he was waiting for a friend so that he could give her a ride to a job interview and that he was not aware his license was suspended. The officer asked defendant if he would exit the vehicle and sit on the hood of the car. Defendant complied, and the officer returned to the cruiser and ran a warrant check on defendant, finding no outstanding warrants. The entire interaction up to this point occurred within roughly three minutes of the officer's approach.

¶ 4. When the officer returned to defendant's vehicle, he asked defendant what was in the bottle and if defendant had a prescription. Defendant said it was anxiety medication but could not remember what it was called, and he gave the names

of both his therapist and his doctor. The officer asked defendant how long he had the bottle, to which defendant responded that he had it for "a little while." The officer asked "what's in the bottle because when I shake the bottle there's nothing moving, but when I look through it there's plastic baggies in there ... when I get a bottle from the doctor, they don't individualize it, do they?" Defendant responded, "Why don't I just give you permission to open it." The officer replied, "You're going to give me permission to open it? That would be great. What else is in the car because when I walked over here I know I saw you shove that bottle right in between the car seat?" Defendant responded that he was covering his soft drink bottle so that it would not get hot. The officer asked defendant additional questions about his whereabouts, his reason for being in the supermarket parking lot, and his criminal past. The officer eventually brought the bottle back to his cruiser, opened it, and found a white powdery substance later identified as cocaine. Roughly ten minutes elapsed from the officer's first approach to his opening the bottle.

¶ 5. The officer returned to the vehicle and questioned defendant further about the substance in the bottle: what defendant thought was in the bottle and how much he thought it contained. After roughly ten more minutes of questioning, the officer arrested defendant and searched him incident to the arrest. During the search, defendant admitted that in his right front pocket he had another prescription bottle, which he stated contained Klonopin

and another anxiety medication. The bottle, which contained multiple types of pills and was labeled with a name other than defendant's, was seized. The search also revealed more plastic bags containing cocaine. Defendant was transported to the Brandon Police Department where he was advised of his Miranda rights.

¶ 6. Defendant was charged with possession of cocaine. He moved to suppress the evidence obtained during the investigative detention, arguing that it was the result of an unlawful search and seizure that exceeded the scope of the suspended license investigation in violation of the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Chapter I, Article 11 of the Vermont Constitution

. He also moved to suppress statements made before the officer advised him of his Miranda rights, arguing that the questioning outside his vehicle amounted to a custodial interrogation. On February 27, 2014, the trial court held a motion hearing, at which it heard testimony of the officer.

¶ 7. In a May 27, 2014 written order, the court denied defendant's motion. The court concluded that the encounter did not amount to a seizure because it "was not so intimidating that a reasonable person would not feel free to leave without responding to the officer's requests." The court also concluded that defendant was not in custody, and therefore not entitled to Miranda warnings, because the encounter occurred in broad daylight in a public parking lot, only a single officer was present, defendant's vehicle was not blocked in by the cruiser, and defendant's freedom of movement was not otherwise restrained. This appeal followed.

¶ 8. Defendant renews his claims on appeal. With respect to the Fourth Amendment and Article 11, defendant claims that he was unlawfully seized without reasonable suspicion and that his consent to search the prescription bottle was tainted by this unlawful seizure. With respect to Miranda, defendant claims that he was subject to a custodial interrogation without being advised of his constitutional rights.

¶ 9. Before turning to defendant's specific claims, it is important that we clarify what is being argued and what we are deciding in this appeal. Defendant argues that the point at which he was seized was when the officer ordered him out of his vehicle.3 The State's position is that this seizure was lawful because the officer had reasonable suspicion based on the presence of the prescription bottle and other factors, which we discuss in greater detail below. As noted above, however, the trial court concluded that defendant was not seized because the entire encounter remained consensual; as such, the court did not consider the sufficiency of the officer's reasonable suspicion. While we agree with defendant, rather than with the trial court, that he was seized upon exiting the vehicle, we believe that the officer had reasonable suspicion for the exit order and subsequent questioning about the prescription bottle. We therefore affirm the trial court but on a separate ground. See State v. Guzman, 2008 VT 116, ¶ 10 n. 3, 184 Vt. 518, 965 A.2d 544

(explaining this Court can affirm on different grounds "if the record supports it").

¶ 10. When reviewing the trial court's decision on a motion to suppress, we review the court's legal conclusions de novo and its factual findings for clear error. State v. Hinton, 2014 VT 131, ¶ 8, 198 Vt. 167, 112 A.3d 770

.

¶ 11. We start with defendant's Fourth Amendment and Article 11 claims, briefly reciting the applicable background law. The Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Chapter I, Article 11 of the Vermont Constitution4

protect citizens against unreasonable searches and seizures. U.S. Const.amend. IV (providing 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"); Vt. Const. ch. I, art. 11 (providing that "the people have a right to hold themselves, their houses, papers, and possessions, free from search or seizure"); see State v. Berard, 154 Vt. 306, 309, 576 A.2d 118, 120 (1990)

(noting that Article Eleven imports "reasonableness" standard of Fourth Amendment). In Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 27–29, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968), the U.S. Supreme Court articulated an exception to the probable cause requirement for seizures that are limited in their scope and duration and do not rise to the level of full arrests. Such an intrusion must be justified by "specific and articulable facts which, taken together with rational inferences from those facts, reasonably warrant that intrusion," and cannot be based on the officer's "inchoate and unparticularized suspicion or ‘hunch.’ " Id. at 21, 27, 88 S.Ct. 1868 ; see State v. Simoneau, 2003 VT 83, ¶ 14, 176 Vt. 15, 833 A.2d 1280 ("The officer must have more than an unparticularized suspicion or hunch of criminal activity, but needs considerably less than proof of wrongdoing by a...

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15 cases
  • State v. Webster
    • United States
    • Vermont Supreme Court
    • 20 Octubre 2017
    ...taken into custody or otherwise deprived of his freedom of action in any significant way.' " State v. Manning, 2015 VT 124, ¶ 23, 200 Vt. 423, 132 A.3d 716 (quoting Miranda, 384 U.S. at 444). ¶ 11. Here, defendant made several apologies and incriminating statements before he was subjected t......
  • Zullo v. State
    • United States
    • Vermont Supreme Court
    • 4 Enero 2019
    ...Fourth Amendment, Article 11 "protect[s] citizens against unreasonable searches and seizures." State v. Manning, 2015 VT 124, ¶ 11, 200 Vt. 423, 132 A.3d 716 ; see State v. Berard, 154 Vt. 306, 309, 576 A.2d 118, 120 (1990) (noting that Article 11 imports Fourth Amendment's "reasonableness"......
  • State v. Webster
    • United States
    • Vermont Supreme Court
    • 20 Octubre 2017
    ...taken into custody or otherwise deprived of his freedom of action in any significant way.' " State v. Manning, 2015 VT 124, ¶ 23, 200 Vt. 423, 132 A.3d 716 (quoting Miranda, 384 U.S. at 444, 86 S.Ct. 1602 ).¶ 11. Here, defendant made several apologies and incriminating statements before he ......
  • State v. Sinquell-Gainey
    • United States
    • Vermont Supreme Court
    • 6 Mayo 2022
    ...expertise of the officer in drawing inferences from the individual facts and circumstances." State v. Manning, 2015 VT 124, ¶ 15, 200 Vt. 423, 132 A.3d 716 ; see id. ¶ 14 (" ‘[Officers] draw on their own experience and specialized training to make inferences from and deductions about the cu......
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