State v. Pals

• Decision Date: 28 October 2011
• Docket Number: No. 09–0064.,09–0064.
• Citation: 805 N.W.2d 767
• Parties: STATE of Iowa, Appellee, v. Randall Lee PALS, Appellant.
• Court: Iowa Supreme Court

805 N.W.2d 767

STATE of Iowa, Appellee,

v.Randall Lee PALS, Appellant.

No. 09–0064.

Supreme Court of Iowa.

Oct. 28, 2011.

Mark C. Smith, State Appellate Defender, and Bradley M. Bender, Assistant Appellate Defender, for appellant.

Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, Kevin R. Cmelik, Assistant Attorney General, and Jeffrey H. Greve, County Attorney, for appellee.

APPEL, Justice.

Randall Pals' vehicle was searched during a traffic stop and the police officer discovered marijuana. Pals moved to suppress the evidence, challenging the legality of the traffic stop and search under the search and seizure clauses of the Iowa and Federal Constitutions. The district court denied the motion to suppress, and Pals was convicted at a bench trial of possession of a controlled substance in violation of Iowa Code section 124.401(5) (2007). Pals appealed, arguing the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress. The court of appeals affirmed. We granted further review. For the reasons expressed below, we vacate the decision of the court of appeals, reverse the judgment of the district court, and remand for further proceedings.

I. Background Facts and Prior Proceedings.

On August 18, 2007, Worth County Deputy Sheriff Mark Wubben received a complaint that two dogs, a Brittany spaniel (Brittany) and a Labrador retriever (Lab), were running loose in Joice, Iowa. Wubben observed the dogs running loose and noticed they did not have tags or collars. While he was looking for the dogs, Wubben saw a white truck with a red topper driving around that appeared to be searching for the dogs. Wubben spoke to a friend of Randall Pals who advised him that the dogs belonged to Pals. Wubben was unable to locate the dogs or Pals at that point, so he left town and headed toward Rice Lake.

On the highway, Wubben encountered Pals' truck coming from the opposite direction. He ran the plates and confirmed the truck belonged to Pals. Wubben began to follow Pals and noticed the Brittany in the back of the truck, but he did not see the Lab. Wubben pulled Pals over to advise Pals that the dogs needed tags and collars and that a Joice municipal ordinance prohibited dogs running at large.

Wubben remarked, “I see you found one of them before I did” to Pals, and Pals acknowledged the two dogs belonged to him. Pals said he recovered both dogs and explained that the Lab was in a kennel in the back of the truck. Wubben testified the kennel was not visible from outside of the truck and he never saw the Lab before stopping Pals' vehicle.

Wubben requested Pals' driver's license and went back to his patrol car where he contacted his lieutenant. Wubben was advised to provide a verbal warning about the dogs. Wubben returned to Pals' vehicle and asked for proof of insurance, which Pals was unable to produce. Wubben then asked Pals to come back to his patrol car.

Pals sat in the front passenger seat of Wubben's patrol car. Wubben told Pals that Pals needed to update his address on his driver's license. Wubben explained the need for tags and collars on the dogs and gave Pals a verbal warning. He also discussed the necessity of having proof of insurance in the vehicle and explained that Pals would alleviate the need for a no-insurance ticket if Pals would call the sheriff's office with his insurance policy number and expiration date. Pals agreed to do so.

Wubben then asked Pals, “Say you don't have anything, any weapons or drugs or anything like that in your vehicle, do you? Do you care if I take a look?” Wubben testified that Pals said, “[S]ure, go ahead.” Wubben and Pals exited the patrol car and approached Pals' vehicle. Wubben began the search and, within two minutes, discovered a half gram of marijuana in the truck. At the conclusion of the search, Pals was handcuffed, advised of his Miranda rights, and placed under arrest.

Pals was charged with possession of a controlled substance, marijuana, a serious misdemeanor, in violation of Iowa Code section 124.401(5). Pals filed a motion to suppress the evidence, claiming: (1) he was still seized at the time of the search and the consent was not voluntarily given, and (2) Wubben lacked probable cause and exigent circumstances to search the vehicle. The district court denied the motion to suppress and subsequently found Pals guilty of possession of a controlled substance. Pals appealed, and the court of appeals affirmed the conviction. Pals sought further review, which we granted.

II. Scope of Review.

Pals argues the district court should have granted his motion to suppress on federal and state constitutional grounds. Therefore, this court's review is de novo. State v. Lane, 726 N.W.2d 371, 377 (Iowa 2007). This review requires “an independent evaluation of the totality of the circumstances as shown by the entire record.” State v. Turner, 630 N.W.2d 601, 606 (Iowa 2001) (internal quotation marks omitted). The court gives “deference to the factual findings of the district court due to its opportunity to evaluate the credibility of the witnesses, but [is] not bound by such findings.” Lane, 726 N.W.2d at 377.

III. Issues Presented.

Pals presents three search and seizure claims in this appeal.¹ Pals first challenges the constitutionality of a traffic stop that is supported only by reasonable suspicion of a completed civil infraction. Second, Pals suggests that there were no articulable facts to give rise to reasonable suspicion of some separate illegal activity that would justify the request to search Pals' vehicle. Third, Pals asserts that, even if the traffic stop was valid, his consent to the search of his car cannot be considered free and voluntary because it was coerced under the facts and circumstances presented in this case.

Pals brings these claims under both the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and article I, section 8 of the Iowa Constitution. While these provisions use nearly identical language and were generally designed with the same scope, import, and purpose, we jealously protect this court's authority to follow an independent approach under our state constitution. State v. Ochoa, 792 N.W.2d 260, 267 (Iowa 2010). In Ochoa, we explained:

[W]hile United States Supreme Court cases are entitled to respectful consideration, we will engage in independent analysis of the content of our state search and seizure provisions.... The degree to which we follow United States Supreme Court precedent, or any other precedent, depends solely upon its ability to persuade us with the reasoning of the decision.

Id. Our approach to independently construing provisions of the Iowa Constitution that are nearly identical to the federal counterpart is well supported in our case law and the law of other jurisdictions. See, e.g., Ochoa, 792 N.W.2d at 267; State v. Cline, 617 N.W.2d 277, 285 (Iowa 2000), overruled on other grounds by Turner, 630 N.W.2d at 606. Even where a party has not advanced a different standard for interpreting a state constitutional provision, we may apply the standard more stringently than federal case law. State v. Bruegger, 773 N.W.2d 862, 883 (Iowa 2009). When, as here, a defendant raises both federal and state constitutional claims, the court has discretion to consider either claim first or consider the claims simultaneously. Ochoa, 792 N.W.2d at 267.

IV. Merits.

A. Introduction. The question of permissible scope of searches and seizures by law enforcement in the context of minor infractions is a major issue in criminal law today. The proper scope of police authority in the context of routine traffic stops has been the subject of countless commentaries,² many cases,³ and a number of consent decrees.⁴ In particular, use of minor traffic infractions as a springboard to consent searches has generated charges of abuse and racial profiling.⁵ Alleged abuses by law enforcement authorities in the context of traffic stops have led to calls for major reform of police practices and even the abandonment of consent searches as a result of vehicle stops altogether.

A number of jurisdictions have entered into consent decrees that provide a framework to control the exercise of police authority during traffic stops. The consent decrees are variable. Some have prohibited law enforcement from seeking consent to search as a result of minor traffic infractions.⁶ Others have allowed consent searches if there is particularized suspicion.⁷ In some jurisdictions, reporting requirements have been imposed to inhibit the development of arbitrary police practices.⁸ In Iowa, one municipality has entered into a confidential settlement with the Iowa Civil Rights Commission related to alleged racial profiling in traffic stops. ⁹ In addition to consent decrees, a number of jurisdictions have initiated limitations on consent searches pursuant to traffic stops as a matter of policy.

This case involves a stop to investigate an ongoing minor infraction of a municipal ordinance. Although it does not involve a stop for a minor traffic violation, many of the concerns that arise in the setting of a routine traffic stop apply here with equal force. We consider the issues with due regard to the legitimate needs of law enforcement, but with a recognition that our constitutional limitations on searches and seizures by law enforcement protect fundamental values of liberty and human dignity and are a bulwark against arbitrary governmental intrusions into the lives of citizens.

B. Legality of the Initial Stop. We first consider the legality of the initial stop in this case. Pals was stopped in his vehicle by Wubben based on the officer's belief that Pals was violating a Joice municipal ordinance. Pals argues Wubben was without authority to detain him initially because he was suspected only of violating a minor civil infraction—allowing his dogs to run loose—and because the civil infraction was already completed. The State contends Wubben had an objectively reasonable basis to believe the infraction was ongoing...