State v. Ruoho
| Decision Date | 17 August 2004 |
| Docket Number | No. A03-2016., No. A03-2015 |
| Citation | 685 N.W.2d 451 |
| Parties | STATE of Minnesota, Appellant, v. Wayne Lawrence RUOHO, Respondent, Jacqueline Francis Knutson, Respondent. |
| Court | Minnesota Court of Appeals |
Mike Hatch, Attorney General, St. Paul, MN 55101; and Donald F. Ryan, Crow Wing County Attorney, Kristine R. DeMay, Assistant County Attorney, Brainerd, MN, for appellant.
Richard Sand, Daniel S. Adkins, Richard Sand, Adkins & Associates, P.A., St. Paul, MN, for respondent Ruoho.
Richard A. Bowen, Paul, MN, for respondent Knutson.
Considered and decided by WILLIS, Presiding Judge; LANSING, Judge; and HUDSON, Judge.
This is a consolidated appeal by the prosecution from a pretrial order suppressing evidence obtained during a warrant-authorized search of Wayne Ruoho and Jacqueline Knutson's rental unit and dismissing criminal charges. The state argues that the district court erred in concluding that the affidavit offered in support of the warrant failed to establish a nexus between the alleged crimes and the unit to be searched sufficient to support a finding of probable cause. Alternatively, the state argues that the district court erred in concluding that the good-faith exception to the exclusionary rule did not apply. By notice of review, Knutson challenges the legality of her off-premises seizure. Because we conclude that the affidavit offered in support of the warrant established a sufficient nexus between the alleged crimes and the unit to be searched, we reverse the district court's decision to suppress evidence obtained during the premises search and to dismiss charges based on that evidence. But because we conclude that Knutson was improperly seized under the limited authority to detain implied in the search warrant, we affirm the district court's decision to suppress evidence obtained as a result of the seizure.
A narcotics agent with the Lakes Area Drug Investigative Division obtained a search warrant on July 16, 2002, for rental unit 12 at Deacon's Lodge, a vacation resort. The warrant authorized the search of the premises and the people residing in the premises for evidence of drug dealing, including controlled substances, drug paraphernalia, address books, cash, records, and cellular phones.
The affidavit offered in support of the warrant indicated that on July 15, 2002, the agent was contacted by a Breezy Point police officer. The officer told the agent that the manager of Grand View Lodge, the company that manages Deacon's Lodge, had contacted him and told him that since June 23, 2002, Wayne Ruoho had been staying in Deacon Lodge's unit 3 with Jacqueline Knutson and their four children. According to the manager, people had reported seeing numerous vehicles coming to and leaving from unit 3. The agent indicated that based on his training and experience, he knew that high traffic volume is common at places where narcotics are distributed.
The affidavit also indicated that Ruoho had large amounts of cash on his person and paid only in cash. According to the agent, on July 2, a second Breezy Point police officer responded to a property-damage complaint involving Ruoho's daughters and saw Ruoho pay the victim $300 in cash. He also saw several $100 bills in Ruoho's wallet, possibly totaling $1,000. The agent indicated that based on his training and experience, he knew that people who distribute narcotics commonly have large amounts of cash in their possession and pay only in cash to conceal their identity.
Because unit 3 had been rented to another tenant starting on July 13, Ruoho and Knutson moved from unit 3 to unit 12 on July 12, 2002. According to the supporting affidavit, Ruoho and Knutson had refused housekeeping services during their stay in unit 3. But the housekeeper who cleaned unit 3 on July 12, presumably in preparation for the next tenant, saw a white powder on a mirror in one of the bedrooms. The Breezy Point police officer who walked through unit 3 after Ruoho and Knutson moved out stated that the unit smelled like marijuana and that he saw a leafy substance and seeds he believed to be marijuana. He also saw blankets over the windows and ink-pen parts throughout the unit. On a table in the basement, the officer saw white-powder residue. The agent indicated that based on his training and experience, he knew that people who distribute narcotics from rental units commonly refuse housekeeping services and keep the blinds drawn to conceal their activities. He also knew that people who consume narcotics in powder form often use mirrors or glass plates and hollow tubes from ink pens for snorting.
The affidavit also indicated that Ruoho had been convicted of narcotics charges in 1990, 1992, and 1993 and had served time for those convictions. The warrant authorizing the search of unit 12 was issued on July 16 and was executed on the same day. The search started at approximately 2:23 p.m. and lasted approximately two hours. At the beginning of the search, officers found male and female adult clothing, documents with Knutson's name, and more than $36,000 in cash. The officers also found a one-month-old child in one of the bedrooms.
The agent learned that Knutson was at the Deacon's Lodge golf course. Relying on the warrant's authorization to search persons residing in unit 12, the agent asked an officer to locate Knutson and bring her back to the rental unit. Knutson was seized at approximately 2:45 p.m., and was brought back to unit 12. The agent then advised her that she was not free to leave until officers finished their investigation, and read her a Miranda warning. A search of Knutson's purse revealed four zip-lock-style bags containing approximately one gram of methamphetamine. After Knutson was seized, officers also found one gram of methamphetamine in the top drawer of a dresser.
Ruoho and Knutson were charged in separate complaints with child endangerment and two counts of fifth-degree controlled-substance crime. At the omnibus hearing, they challenged the issuance of the warrant for lack of probable cause. Knutson also challenged the seizure of her person. The district court concluded that the warrant was not supported by probable cause, reasoning that although the affidavit contained information linking the alleged crimes to unit 3, it set forth no specific facts establishing a nexus between the alleged crimes and unit 12. The court suppressed evidence obtained during the search, rejecting the state's claim that the evidence was admissible under the good-faith exception to the exclusionary rule. The court reasoned that Minnesota courts have not recognized the good-faith exception and that, even if Minnesota courts had recognized the exception, the exception was inapplicable absent information supporting a probable-cause finding. The court also concluded that Knutson was unlawfully seized and suppressed evidence obtained as a result of the search of her purse. Because the charges were based on evidence obtained during the searches, the court dismissed the complaints. This appeal follows.
I. Did the district court err in concluding that the affidavit offered in support of the warrant application failed to establish a nexus between the alleged crimes and unit 12 sufficient to support a finding of probable cause?
II. Did the district court err in concluding that Jacqueline Knutson was improperly seized?
To prevail on a pretrial appeal, the state must show, as a preliminary matter, that the district court's order will have a critical impact on the outcome at trial unless reversed. State v. Scott, 584 N.W.2d 412, 416 (Minn.1998). When a complaint is dismissed for lack of probable cause, critical impact exists if the dismissal "effectively prevent[s] further prosecutions and [makes] reissuing of the complaints pointless." State v. Aarsvold, 376 N.W.2d 518, 520 (Minn.App.1985), review denied (Minn. Dec. 30, 1985). Ruoho and Knutson concede that the district court's ruling will have a critical impact on the prosecution.
The state first argues that the district court erred in concluding that the warrant application failed to provide a sufficient evidentiary basis from which a reasonable person could infer that incriminating evidence would be found in unit 12. We agree.
A warrant application must establish probable cause for the issuing court to believe that a crime has been committed and that evidence of the crime will be found at the place to be searched (the so-called "nexus" requirement). State v. Harris, 589 N.W.2d 782, 788 (Minn.1999). When reviewing a determination of probable cause, the reviewing court's task is to determine whether the affidavit offered in support of the warrant, viewed as a whole, provides a substantial basis for a finding of probable cause. State v. Zanter, 535 N.W.2d 624, 633 (Minn.1995).
We accord significant deference to the issuing judge's determination of probable cause, Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 236, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 2331, 76 L.Ed.2d 527 (1983), and will not invalidate a warrant by construing an affidavit in a hypertechnical — rather than a common-sense — fashion, United States v. Ventresca, 380 U.S. 102, 109, 85 S.Ct. 741, 746, 13 L.Ed.2d 684 (1965). To avoid discouraging police from seeking review by a neutral and detached magistrate, doubtful or marginal cases are resolved in favor of upholding the warrant. Harris, 589 N.W.2d at 791. In sum, we view the issuing judge's determination flexibly, deferentially, and with an eye to encouraging rather than discouraging the use of warrants by law-enforcement officers.
In determining whether probable cause to issue a search warrant exists, the task of the issuing judge is to make a practical, common-sense decision about whether the affidavit in support of the warrant sets forth sufficient competent evidence from which a person could infer that there is a fair probability that contraband or evidence of a crime will be found in a particular...
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