State v. Mitchell, 80145

• Decision Date: 29 May 1998
• Docket Number: No. 80145,80145
• Citation: 960 P.2d 200,265 Kan. 238
• Parties: STATE of Kansas, Appellant, v. Victor MITCHELL, Appellee.
• Court: Kansas Supreme Court

Page 200

960 P.2d 200

265 Kan. 238

STATE of Kansas, Appellant, v. Victor MITCHELL, Appellee.

No. 80145.

Supreme Court of Kansas.

May 29, 1998.

Syllabus by the Court

1. An appellate court will uphold a trial court's suppression of evidence if that ruling is supported by substantial competent evidence.

2. A traffic stop is a seizure within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment, even though the purpose of the stop is limited and the resulting detention quite brief. An ordinary traffic stop is, however, more analogous to an investigative detention than a custodial arrest. We therefore analyze such stops under the principles pertaining to investigative detentions set forth in Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968).

3. To determine the reasonableness of an investigative detention, we make a dual inquiry, asking first whether the law enforcement officer's action was justified at its inception, and second, whether it was reasonably related in scope to the circumstances which justified the interference in the first place.

4. A law enforcement officer conducting a routine traffic stop may request a driver's license and vehicle registration, run a computer check, and issue a citation. When the driver has produced a valid license and proof that he or she is entitled to operate the car, the driver must be allowed to proceed on his or her way, without being subject to further delay by the officer for additional questioning. In order to justify a temporary detention for further questioning, the officer must also have reasonable suspicion of illegal transactions in drugs or of any other serious crime.

Leo T. Gensweider, County Attorney, argued the cause, and Carla J. Stovall, Attorney General, was with him on the brief, for appellant.

E. Jay Greeno, Wichita, argued the cause and was on the brief, for appellee.

LOCKETT, Justice:

A motorist was stopped for speeding. After a police officer had information necessary to issue a citation, he questioned the motorist about drug usage and requested permission to search his pickup truck. The motorist denied the officer permission to search the truck. The officer informed the motorist that because he did not consent to a search, a drug-sniffing dog would be brought to the scene. If the dog sniffed drugs, the vehicle would then be searched without the motorist's consent. The motorist then capitulated and agreed to a search. The district court suppressed evidence found during the search, and the State appealed.

The facts are undisputed. The Yates Center police officer videotaped the encounter when Victor Mitchell was stopped for speeding. At 10:36 p.m. on June 26, 1997, Mitchell was stopped for travelling 59 mph in a 45 mph zone. Mitchell had his 13-year-old daughter with him who was visiting for the summer and had been with her father for 2 days.

While Mitchell was retrieving his driver's license and auto insurance information, the officer looked through Mitchell's window with a flashlight. The officer then told Mitchell to follow him to the rear of the truck. During the suppression hearing the officer testified he was "investigating something above and beyond the fact that the vehicle had been stopped for speeding." While waiting for information from the dispatcher regarding Mitchell's driver's license, the officer began questioning Mitchell.

The officer asked Mitchell if he had ever been arrested. Four minutes after the stop, the dispatcher indicated that Mitchell's license was valid and there were no outstanding warrants. The officer then showed Mitchell the radar display. Instead of writing a traffic citation, the officer began to question Mitchell about prior drug offenses. Mitchell admitted that he had in the past smoked marijuana. The officer asked whether Mitchell still smoked marijuana. When Mitchell denied doing so, the officer asked Mitchell if he was transporting any illegal drugs. Mitchell said no. The officer stated, "Having that in mind, you wouldn't mind giving me permission to search the vehicle, then would you?"

Mitchell refused to give the officer permission to search the truck. The officer then informed Mitchell he would call for the drug- sniffing dog and if the dog "hits" on the truck, the officer would search Mitchell's vehicle without permission. He continued, "The process would be a lot easier if you've got something, you've got your daughter with you." Mitchell finally admitted he had some joints and agreed to retrieve them for the officer. The officer took possession of the alleged marijuana, informed Mitchell of his Miranda rights, and searched the truck. All of this took place in 13 minutes. Mitchell produced the marijuana to the officer approximately 7 minutes after being stopped.

Mitchell was charged with felony possession of marijuana. After Mitchell's arrest, the officer took the daughter into custody and back to the police station to arrange for her transportation back to her mother.

Mitchell moved to suppress the marijuana and all statements made during the stop. At the conclusion of the suppression hearing, the district judge granted Mitchell's motion to suppress.

The judge's decision was made during Mitchell's cross-examination of the State's first witness based upon the videotape of the stop. Mitchell's counsel had asked the police officer whether he was investigating other crimes during the stop. The officer responded that he was. The county attorney objected, stating, "Your Honor, I'm going to object. You've got the video. I don't know what more you can need. Whatever his thought process was is not material to a suppression. Even if he thought the person was in custody, that ain't the case law test." The district judge responded, "Well, I'm usually not the kind that wants to cut something artificially short, but if you want to use the test as being the tape, I'll grant the Motion to Suppress." The timing of the district judge's ruling and the explicit statement indicate the district judge ruled the officer did not have any cause to continue Mitchell's detention longer than necessary to write a traffic citation.

The State filed an interlocutory appeal, claiming (1) the district court erred in finding the officer exceeded his authority in detaining and questioning Mitchell during a routine traffic stop; (2) the taint of an illegal search was removed by Mitchell's voluntary statement and consent; (3) there was no violation of Miranda; (4) Mitchell's consent to search the vehicle was free and voluntary; (5) Mitchell's incriminating statement was voluntary; and (6) Mitchell or his vehicle was not illegally seized.

We accepted the case pursuant to K.S.A. 20-3018(c).

DISCUSSION:

An appellate court will uphold a trial court's suppression of evidence if that ruling is supported by substantial competent evidence. State v. Vandiver, 257 Kan. 53, Syl. p 5, 891 P.2d 350 (1995). See generally State v. Griffin, 246 Kan. 320, 787 P.2d 701 (1990) (general discussion of suppression of evidence and State's interlocutory appeal from adverse rulings).

"A traffic stop is a seizure within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment, 'even though the purpose of the stop is limited and the resulting detention quite brief.' [Citation omitted.] An ordinary traffic stop is, however, more analogous to an investigative detention than a custodial arrest. We therefore analyze such stops under the principles pertaining to investigative detentions set forth in Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968). To determine the reasonableness of an investigative detention, we make a dual inquiry, asking first 'whether the officer's action was justified at its inception,' and second 'whether it was reasonably related in scope to the circumstances which justified the interference in the first place.' " [Citations omitted.] United States v. Botero-Ospina, 71 F.3d 783, 786 (10th Cir.1995).

The State argues that the officer's questioning of Mitchell lasted only 5 1/2 minutes. Of that time, 3 minutes and 50 seconds were spent obtaining driver's license information from dispatch. An additional 20 seconds was spent showing Mitchell the radar speed readout. According to the State, this left "the officer approximately one minute and twenty seconds to write out the speeding citation." Consequently, defendant was stopped no longer than it would normally take to issue a citation.

However, a review of the videotape shows that the officer was not writing a citation during the time Mitchell was stopped. Instead, after the officer had obtained sufficient information to issue the traffic citation, he questioned Mitchell about whether he used or was carrying marijuana. Additionally, the officer informed Mitchell that if he did not consent to a search, Mitchell would be detained until a drug-sniffing dog arrived and if the dog detected drugs in Mitchell's vehicle, the officer would then search the vehicle regardless of Mitchell's consent.

Both the State and Mitchell rely upon United States v. Shabazz, 993 F.2d 431 (5th Cir.1993), and United States v. Walker, 933 F.2d 812 (10th Cir.1991). Therefore, a review of these cases is appropriate. In Shabazz, defendant was stopped for speeding. There was a passenger in the car. The officers asked Shabazz to come to the rear of the vehicle with his driver's license. While one officer was running Shabazz' driver's license, he questioned Shabazz. The other officer questioned the passenger, Parker. Parker seemed nervous. The officers then compared notes and discovered the two individuals had given conflicting stories regarding their recent whereabouts. Based on all of this information, the officers sought consent to search the automobile. Parker, who owned the automobile, consented to the search. The search seized a significant amount of crack and cocaine.

In reviewing the district court's denial of Shabazz' motion to suppress, the Shabazz court analyzed whether the stop exceeded what is permissible...