State v. Meyer

• Citation: 2015 S.D. 64
• Decision Date: 22 July 2015
• Docket Number: #27218
• Parties: STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. ARIA M. MEYER, Defendant and Appellant.
• Court: Supreme Court of South Dakota

2015 S.D. 64

STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA, Plaintiff and Appellee, v. ARIA M. MEYER, Defendant and Appellant.

#27218

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA

CONSIDERED ON BRIEFS ON MARCH 23, 2015

July 22, 2015

#27218-a-JMK

APPEAL FROM THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE THIRD JUDICIAL CIRCUIT BROOKINGS COUNTY, SOUTH DAKOTA

THE HONORABLE GREGORY J. STOLTENBURG Judge

MARTY J. JACKLEY

Attorney General

ELLIE J. BAILEY

Assistant Attorney General

Pierre, South Dakota

Attorneys for plaintiff

and appellee.

DONALD M. MCCARTY of

Helsper, McCarty, Mahlke & Kleinjan, P.C.

Brookings, South Dakota

Attorneys for defendant

and appellant.

KERN, Justice

[¶1.] South Dakota State University (SDSU) police stopped Defendant Aria Meyer and several others in a group on suspicion of underage consumption and for violating South Dakota's open container law. The State charged Meyer with underage consumption pursuant to SDCL 35-9-2 and driving under the influence (DUI) pursuant to SDCL 32-23-1(1). Meyer moved to suppress all evidence stemming from the stop. After an evidentiary hearing, the magistrate court denied the motion. Pursuant to a stipulation and agreement, Meyer was found guilty of DUI but retained the right to appeal the court's denial of her motion to suppress. Meyer appealed to the circuit court, and it affirmed. Meyer now appeals to this Court. We affirm.

BACKGROUND

[¶2.] Just after midnight on September 15, 2013, SDSU student patrol officers Jack Dunteman and Brennan Albrecht were on bicycle patrol on SDSU's campus. The student officers were wearing gray uniform shirts and black pants. Dunteman spotted a group of about eight individuals in a parking lot gathered around an open tailgate of a Ford Escape. The Escape's taillights were on. As Dunteman approached, he observed the group walk toward Young Hall, which primarily houses freshman and sophomore students. According to Dunteman, some of the individuals appeared to stumble and could not walk in a straight line, but he could not identify which particular students. Dunteman arrived at the Escape and smelled the odor of alcohol. Dunteman also peered in the rear driver's-side window and saw two open Coors Light cans, one sealed Coors Light can, an open containerof Bud Light Straw-Ber-Ritas, and an open bottle of UV Blue Vodka. Dunteman did not witness any of the group members consume alcohol and did not know their ages. Dunteman reported his observations to dispatch and requested a sworn officer.

[¶3.] Dunteman observed a patrol car driving nearby and, when it stopped, he spoke with SDSU Police Officer Jonathan Anderson. Dunteman told Officer Anderson that the group that had just crossed the street in front of his patrol car was the group Dunteman had been watching. By this time, the group members were standing outside of Young Hall approximately 20 feet from the east entrance closest to the parking lot. Officer Anderson, who was dressed in a black police uniform, proceeded to make contact with the group and observed that each individual appeared to have consumed alcohol.¹ Officer Brandon Schultz arrived on the scene shortly thereafter to assist Officer Anderson. Together, Officer Anderson and Officer Schultz reviewed each of the group member's driver's licenses and determined that everyone in the group was under 21 years old. Officer Anderson asked the student officers to run a license-plate check on the Escape. The vehicle was registered to Meyer. When asked to identify herself, Meyer raised her hand and stepped forward.

[¶4.] Officer Anderson took Meyer to his patrol car and asked her questions. Meyer told Officer Anderson that she, along with the other group members, had consumed alcohol that night and that she had driven the vehicle. Officer Andersonadministered field sobriety tests and a preliminary breath test, both of which Meyer failed. Officer Anderson then arrested Meyer, read her the DUI advisement card, and administered a Miranda warning. Meyer waived her Miranda rights and said that she had consumed Straw-Ber-Ritas. Meyer also said she had driven the Escape and was under the influence of alcohol. Law enforcement obtained a warrant to draw her blood, and the blood draw indicated her blood alcohol content was 0.169%.

[¶5.] The State charged Meyer with DUI and underage consumption. Meyer moved the court to suppress all evidence, asserting that law enforcement lacked reasonable suspicion and probable cause to make the stop. The magistrate court held an evidentiary hearing on the motion on December 9, 2013. The magistrate court denied Meyer's motion to suppress and entered findings of fact and conclusions of law. The parties entered into a stipulation whereby Meyer agreed to waive her right to a jury trial and proceed to a court trial. In exchange, the State agreed to dismiss the underage consumption charge, and the parties agreed Meyer would preserve the right to appeal the magistrate court's decision. At the court trial on April 21, 2014, the court convicted Meyer of DUI. Meyer appealed the motion to suppress to the circuit court, and it affirmed. Meyer appeals to this Court.

[¶6.] Meyer raises one issue in this appeal:

Whether the magistrate court and the circuit court erred in denying the motion to suppress.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

[¶7.] "This Court reviews the denial of a motion to suppress alleging a violation of a constitutionally protected right as a question of law by applying the de novo standard." State v. Ludemann, 2010 S.D. 9, ¶ 14, 778 N.W.2d 618, 622 (quoting State v. Madsen, 2009 S.D. 5, ¶ 11, 760 N.W.2d 370, 374). "Under this standard, we review the [magistrate] court's findings of fact under the clearly erroneous standard, but we give no deference to its conclusions of law." Id. (quoting State v. Haar, 2009 S.D. 79, ¶ 12, 772 N.W.2d 157, 162).

ANALYSIS

[¶8.] "The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article VI, section 11 of the South Dakota Constitution protect individuals from unreasonable searches and seizures." State v. Aaberg, 2006 S.D. 58, ¶ 9, 718 N.W.2d 598, 600 (footnote omitted). "Generally, probable cause must exist before law enforcement is permitted to seize an individual." Id. (citing Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 15-19, 88 S. Ct. 1868, 1876-78, 20 L. Ed. 2d 889 (1968)). "However, if law enforcement officers lack the probable cause necessary to effectuate a custodial arrest, officers may perform a brief, investigative stop based on reasonable suspicion." State v. Mohr, 2013 S.D. 94, ¶ 13, 841 N.W.2d 440, 444.

[¶9.] We have noted that "[a]rticulating a precise definition of reasonable suspicion is 'not possible.'" Aaberg, 2006 S.D. 58, ¶ 10, 718 N.W.2d at 600 (quoting Ornelas v. United States, 517 U.S. 690, 695, 116 S. Ct. 1657, 1661, 134 L. Ed. 2d 911 (1996)). We apply "a common-sense and non-technical approach to determining reasonable suspicion, one that deals with the practical considerations of everydaylife." Mohr, 2013 S.D. 94, ¶ 14, 841 N.W.2d at 444 (quoting State v. Sound Sleeper, 2010 S.D. 71, ¶ 16, 787 N.W.2d 787, 791). "A reviewing court must look to the 'totality of the circumstances' to determine whether the officer had a 'particularized and objective basis' for suspecting criminal activity." Id. (quoting State v. Johnson, 2011 S.D. 10, ¶ 8, 795 N.W.2d 924, 926). "The factual basis needed to support an officer's reasonable suspicion is minimal." Id. However, an officer's stop cannot be "the product of mere whim, caprice, or idle curiosity." Id. (quoting State v. Satter, 2009 S.D. 35, ¶ 6, 766 N.W.2d 153, 155).

[¶10.] Meyer first argues that the magistrate court clearly erred when it found that Officer Anderson effectuated the stop. "In applying the clearly erroneous standard[,] . . . [t]he question for the appellate court 'is not whether it would have made the same findings [as] the [circuit] court did, but whether [upon review of the entire record the appellate court] is left with a definite and firm conviction that a mistake has been committed.'" In re Estate of Hobelsberger, 85 S.D. 282, 289, 181 N.W.2d 455, 459 (1970) (quoting Zenith Radio Corp. v. Hazeltine Research Inc., 395 U.S. 100, 123, 89 S. Ct. 1562, 1576, 23 L. Ed. 2d 129 (1969)).

[¶11.] The magistrate court heard conflicting testimony on who stopped Meyer and the other members of the group. Colin Holler, one of the group members, testified that the group was stopped by someone on a bicycle in a police uniform. Holler further testified that they waited several minutes for a law enforcement officer to arrive in a vehicle. Another group member, Chaas Delgado, testified that it was an individual on a bicycle who stopped the group outside of Young Hall. He testified that after the person on the bicycle stopped the group, apatrol vehicle pulled up. Delgado said he felt compelled to stop. Similarly, group member Faith Laleman stated that an individual on a bicycle asked the group to stop. According to Laleman, the student officer approached the group, said he could smell alcohol, and asked for their IDs. Later, a patrol vehicle arrived at the scene. Likewise, Meyer testified it was a bicycle officer who stopped the group, and they waited for an officer in a patrol vehicle to arrive. Delgado, Holler, and Meyer could not recall the color of the uniform worn by the officer who stopped them. Laleman said the officer wore an all-black uniform. Holler, Laleman, and Delgado testified they had been drinking that night, and each received citations for minor in consumption.

[¶12.] Student officer Dunteman testified that he did not stop the group, but rather, that Officer Anderson made the stop. Dunteman further testified that he is only authorized to stop someone if instructed by law enforcement or if someone's life is in danger. Officer Anderson testified that he stopped the group based on the information provided by Dunteman. After hearing the conflicting testimony, observing the witnesses, and weighing their credibility and demeanor, the magistrate court determined Officer Anderson stopped the group. We give...