State v. Meneese

• Decision Date: 02 August 2012
• Docket Number: No. 86203–6.,86203–6.
• Citation: 282 P.3d 83,174 Wash.2d 937,283 Ed. Law Rep. 509
• Court: Washington Supreme Court
• Parties: STATE of Washington, Respondent, v. Jamar Billy Deshawn MENEESE, Petitioner.

174 Wash.2d 937

282 P.3d 83

283 Ed. Law Rep. 509

STATE of Washington, Respondent,

v.Jamar Billy Deshawn MENEESE, Petitioner.

No. 86203–6.

Supreme Court of Washington,

En Banc.

Argued Jan. 24, 2012.

Decided Aug. 2, 2012.

Christopher Gibson, Nielsen Broman & Koch PLLC, Seattle, WA, for Petitioner.

William Leonard Doyle, James Whisman, King County Prosecutors' Office, Seattle, WA, for Respondent.

Douglas B. Klunder, Attorney at Law, Travis Stearns, Washington Defender Association, Sarah A. Dunne, Nancy Lynne Talner, ACLU of Washington Foundation, Seattle, WA, amicus counsel for American Civil Liberties Union of Washington.

Robert Charles Boruchowitz, Lorraine K. Bannai, Seattle University School of Law, Robert S. Chang, Attorney at Law, Mercer Island, WA, David A. Perez, Perkins Coie LLP, Seattle, WA, amicus counsel for Fred T. Korematsu Center for Law & Equality.

Kimberly Dawn Ambrose, University of Washington School of Law, Seattle, WA, amicus counsel for Seattle Young People's Project.

Hillary Ann Behrman, David Huneryager, TeamChild, Seattle, WA, Nicole K. McGrath, Everett, WA, amicus counsel for TeamChild.

OWENS, J.

[174 Wash.2d 939]¶ 1 Jamar Meneese appeals his conviction for unlawfully carrying a dangerous weapon on school grounds and for possessing a controlled substance. He claims the weapon, an air pistol, was seized in an unlawful search at school and should have been suppressed at trial. The question on appeal is whether the school search exception to the warrant requirement applies to the search conducted by the school resource officer (SRO). The exception allows school officials to search students without a warrant when the official has reasonable suspicion the search will produce evidence of a violation of law or school policy. New Jersey v. T.L.O., 469 U.S. 325, 341, 105 S.Ct. 733, 83 L.Ed.2d 720 (1985).

¶ 2 The parties dispute whether the SRO was acting as a school official or a law enforcement officer at the time of the search. Here, the SRO is a fully commissioned, uniformed, law enforcement officer employed by the Bellevue Police Department. He arrested and handcuffed Meneese before searching his backpack. Moreover, after arresting Meneese, the focus of the investigation was no longer on informal school discipline, an underlying purpose behind the school search exception. Accordingly, given the overwhelming indicia of police action, the school search exception does not apply, a warrant supported by probable cause was required, and the weapon should be suppressed.

FACTS

Officer Michael Fry's Employment

¶ 3 Officer Fry has been a full-time law enforcement officer with the Bellevue Police Department for over 15 years. Since the late 1990s, he has also served as the SRO at Robinswood High School in Bellevue. In 2008, the police department and the school district signed an agreement formalizing the relationship between Fry and five other officers and the school district. In return, the school district agreed to pay $90,000 per year to the police department. As an SRO, Fry was to “creat[e] and maintain[ ] a safe, secure, and orderly learning environment for students, teachers, and staff, through prevention and intervention techniques.” Clerk's Papers (CP) at 26. He had no authority to administer school discipline, suspensions, or expulsions. He dressed in a standard-issue police uniform that bore the Bellevue Police Department insignia on it. He also drove a marked police vehicle to and from the school. And on a rare occasion, he would assist a fellow officer with an incident unrelated to the school.

Meneese's Arrest and Subsequent Search

¶ 4 In February 2009, Fry was conducting a routine check of the boys' restroom at Robinswood when he discovered Meneese standing at the sink holding a bag of marijuana in one hand and a medicine vial in the other. Fry confiscated the marijuana and escorted Meneese along with his backpack to the dean of students' office.

¶ 5 At the office, the dean took a passive role as Fry informed her about the situation. No school discipline took place at this time. Instead, Fry placed Meneese under arrest and requested a patrol unit to pick Meneese up for booking at the police station. While waiting on backup, Fry became suspicious that Meneese's backpack might contain additional contraband because it had a padlock on the handles. Fry attempted, and had limited success, to search the backpack without first removing the lock. When asked for the key, Meneese claimed to have left it at home. This made Fry even more suspicious. He then handcuffed and searched Meneese for the key, which Fry found. Upon opening the backpack, Fry discovered a replica Beretta air pistol (i.e., BB gun). And at this point, Fry read Meneese his Miranda¹ rights, and the backup officer arrived shortly thereafter to transport Meneese for booking.

Procedural History

¶ 6 Meneese stipulated to the above facts and was convicted of unlawfully carrying a dangerous weapon at school and of possessing less than 40 grams of marijuana. During the trial, Meneese filed a motion to suppress the air pistol, claiming the search was unlawful. A court commissioner denied the motion to suppress and found Meneese guilty.

¶ 7 Meneese filed a motion to revise the commissioner's ruling, which the superior court denied. He then appealed, contesting the lawfulness of backpack search. The Court of Appeals affirmed, finding that the school search exception applied. State v. J.M., 162 Wash.App. 27, 255 P.3d 828 (2011). Meneese then sought review by this court, which we granted. State v. Meneese, 172 Wash.2d 1017, 262 P.3d 64 (2011).

ISSUE PRESENTED

¶ 8 Does the school search exception apply to Fry's search of Meneese's locked backpack?

STANDARD OF REVIEW

¶ 9 On appeal, we review the superior court's decision on the commissioner's ruling; not the commissioner's ruling itself. State v. Ramer, 151 Wash.2d 106, 113, 86 P.3d 132 (2004). Meneese does not challenge any factual findings. Instead, he challenges the superior court's conclusions of law and its application of law to the facts. Accordingly, we review these issues de novo. State v. Dow, 168 Wash.2d 243, 248–49, 227 P.3d 1278 (2010).

ANALYSIS

¶ 10 Meneese is claiming that the air pistol should be suppressed because Fry lacked the necessary warrant to search his locked backpack. Absent an exception to the warrant requirement, the search was indisputably unlawful. See State v. Stroud, 106 Wash.2d 144, 152, 720 P.2d 436 (1986) (postarrestsearches of locked containers require a valid search warrant), overruled on other grounds by State v. Valdez, 167 Wash.2d 761, 777, 224 P.3d 751 (2009). The question on appeal is whether, at the time of the search, the school search exception applied to Fry's search.

1. School Search Exception

¶ 11 Both our state and federal constitutions protect persons from unreasonable searches and seizures. U.S. Const. amend. IV; Wash. Const. art. I, § 7 (“No person shall be disturbed in his private affairs, or his home invaded, without authority of law.”). This means a government actor needs a warrant supported by probable cause to conduct a search unless an exception applies. State v. McKinnon, 88 Wash.2d 75, 79, 558 P.2d 781 (1977). These exceptions are “ ‘jealously and carefully drawn.’ ” Id. (quoting Coolidge v. New Hampshire, 403 U.S. 443, 455, 91 S.Ct. 2022, 29 L.Ed.2d 564 (1971)).

¶ 12 The school search exception to the warrant requirement is well established under both Washington and federal law. T.L.O., 469 U.S. at 341, 105 S.Ct. 733 (exception to Fourth Amendment); York v. Wahkiakum Sch. Dist. No. 200, 163 Wash.2d 297, 308–09, 178 P.3d 995 (2008) (exception to article I, section 7). It allows a school official to search a student's person if, under all the circumstances, the official has reasonable suspicion. Id.

¶ 13 The Fourth Amendment exception was first recognized in Washington when a high school principal, acting on his own, searched a student after receiving a tip from the local police. McKinnon, 88 Wash.2d at 77–78, 558 P.2d 781 (decided under Fourth Amendment grounds). The court reasoned that a lower standard applied to the principal because his primary duty was to maintain order and discipline at school, not discover and prevent crime like a police officer. Id. at 81, 558 P.2d 781. We have since stated that this reasoning also applies under article I, section 7. See York, 163 Wash.2d at 308–09, 178 P.3d 995. In contrast with teachers and administrators, it is also well settled that law enforcement officers acting on their own are not entitled to this exception. See McKinnon, 88 Wash.2d at 81, 558 P.2d 781 (reasoning that the high school principal can utilize a lower standard of proof because he is not a law enforcement officer); 5 Wayne R. LaFave, Search and Seizure: A treatise on the Fourth Amendment § 10.11(b), at 511 (4th ed. 2004).

2. School Search Exception and SROs

¶ 14 Meneese challenges the application of the school search exception to Fry's search of Meneese's backpackand argues Fry was a law enforcement officer when he searched the backpack. We agree and hold that in light of the overwhelming indicia of police action, Fry was a law enforcement officer when he searched Meneese's backpack.

¶ 15 Our holding is guided by the underlying rationale for the school search exception. The underlying rationale is that “teachers and administrators have a substantial interest ‘in maintaining discipline in the classroom and on school grounds' ” that often requires swift action. State v. Slattery, 56 Wash.App. 820, 824, 787 P.2d 932 (1990) (quoting T.L.O., 469 U.S. at 339, 105 S.Ct. 733). This need for swift action renders the warrant requirement particularly “unsuited to the school environment.” T.L.O., 469 U.S. at 340, 105 S.Ct. 733. In effect, the extra burden of requiring a warrant for school searches undermines the need for swift discipline to maintain order, the very purpose behind the search. Id. at 341, 105 S.Ct. 733;McKinnon, 88...