State v. Thomas
| Decision Date | 17 September 2014 |
| Docket Number | No. S–2013–767.,S–2013–767. |
| Citation | 334 P.3d 941,2014 OK CR 12 |
| Parties | The STATE of Oklahoma, Appellant, v. Kanton Damont THOMAS, Appellee. |
| Court | United States State Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma. Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma |
Matthew Sears, Assistant Public Defender, Oklahoma County Public Defender's Office, Oklahoma City, OK, counsel for defendant at motion hearing.
Thomas Schurr, Assistant District Attorney, Oklahoma City, OK, Counsel for State at motion hearing.
David W. Prater, Oklahoma Co. District Attorney, William R. Pierce, Assistant District Attorney, Oklahoma City, OK, counsel for appellant/state on appeal.
Paul M. Clark, Assistant Public Defender, Oklahoma County Public, Defender's Office, Oklahoma City, OK, counsel for appellee on appeal.
¶ 1 Kanton Damont Thomas was charged with Count I, Possession of a Controlled Dangerous Substance (Marijuana) in violation of 63 O.S.2011, § 2–402, and Count II, Possession of a Firearm After Former Conviction of a Felony in violation of 21 O.S.2011, § 1283, in the District Court of Oklahoma County, Case No. CF–2012–5639.1 Thomas moved to suppress the evidence against him, and a hearing was held on July 22, 2013. On August 2, 2013, the Honorable Glenn Jones denied the motion in part and granted the motion in part, suppressing evidence obtained as a result of the search of Thomas's cellular phone. The State timely appealed that Order under 22 O.S.2011, § 1053(5). The State raises four propositions of error in support of its appeal.
¶ 2 After his arrest for possession of a small amount of marijuana, officers searched Thomas's cell phone without his permission. They saw pictures of Thomas holding firearms, cash, and drugs, and used the information from those pictures to get a search warrant for the contents of the phone. The pictures formed the basis for the charge in Count II, that Thomas illegally possessed firearms after a former felony conviction.
¶ 3 A review of the record shows the appeal is proper and review of the issue is in the best interests of justice. 22 O.S.2011, § 1053(5) ; State v. Pope, 2009 OK CR 9, ¶ 3, 204 P.3d 1285, 1287.
¶ 4 Our decision in Proposition II resolves this case. In Proposition II the State argues that the trial court erred in finding that the search of Thomas's cell phone was an invalid warrantless search not within any exceptions. We review this decision for an abuse of discretion. State v. Bass, 2013 OK CR 7, ¶ 10, 300 P.3d 1193, 1196. An abuse of discretion is any unreasonable or arbitrary action taken without proper consideration of the facts and law pertaining to the issue; a clearly erroneous conclusion and judgment, clearly against the logic and effect of the facts. Neloms v. State, 2012 OK CR 7, ¶ 35, 274 P.3d 161, 170. As we noted, the initial issue is whether Thomas has a reasonable expectation of privacy in his cell phone contents. State v. Marcum, 2014 OK CR 1, ¶ 7, 319 P.3d 681, 683. The State concedes that Thomas has an actual, subjective expectation of privacy, which society is prepared to recognize as reasonable. Champeau v. State, 1984 OK CR 54, ¶ 11, 678 P.2d 1192, 1195–96 ; Bass, 2013 OK CR 7, ¶ 5, 300 P.3d at 1195.
¶ 5 Warrantless searches are unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment unless they fall under “a few specifically established and well-delineated exceptions.” Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347, 357, 88 S.Ct. 507, 514, 19 L.Ed.2d 576 (1967). The State argues that the officers' initial search of Thomas's phone was lawful as a search incident to arrest. A search incident to arrest may include the suspect's person and the area within his immediate control, where he could reach a weapon or destroy evidence. Arizona v. Gant, 556 U.S. 332, 339, 129 S.Ct. 1710, 1716, 173 L.Ed.2d 485 (2009), quoting Chimel v. California, 395 U.S. 752, 763, 89 S.Ct. 2034, 2040, 23 L.Ed.2d 685 (1969). This doctrine is designed to promote officer safety and prevent the destruction of evidence. Gant, 556 U.S. at 339, 129 S.Ct. at 1716 ; Chimel, 395 U.S. at 762–63, 89 S.Ct. at 2040. The United States Supreme Court recently considered the search of cell phones incident to arrest in two cases, and held that, absent exigent circumstances or some other exception, police must get a warrant before searching the data on a cell phone. Riley v. California, ––– U.S. ––––, 134 S.Ct. 2473, 189 L.Ed.2d 430 (2014).2
¶ 6 The State argues that, because a cell phone is a container and a search incident to arrest of a container is lawful, the search was lawful. The State relies on a broad reading of United States v. Robinson, 414 U.S. 218, 235–36, 94 S.Ct. 467, 477, 38 L.Ed.2d 427 (1973), arguing that any container found on an arrested person may be searched incident to the arrest, whether or not it might hold a weapon or contraband. In Riley, the Supreme Court rejected this argument and declined to extend Robinson to searches of data on cell phones. Riley, 134 S.Ct. at 2484–85.3
¶ 7 In Riley, the Supreme Court considered the characteristics of cell phones in the context of the Chimel exceptions—officer safety and preservation of evidence. The Court first noted that data stored on cell phones “cannot itself be used as a weapon to harm an arresting officer or to effectuate the arrestee's escape.” Riley, 134 S.Ct. at 2485. Officers may examine the phone itself to ensure it cannot, physically, be used as a weapon, but once the officer has secured the phone, the data it contains is not a threat. Id. The Supreme Court also rejected the argument that cell phone data should be subject to search incident to arrest in order to prevent the destruction of evidence. While acknowledging concerns regarding remote wiping of data and data encryption, the Court noted these concerns were both distinct from and broader than the Chimel focus on a defendant who might try to destroy evidence within his reach. Riley, 134 S.Ct. at 2486. In addition, the Court noted, law enforcement can seize and secure a phone to prevent the destruction of evidence, and has the means to prevent destruction of data on cell phones. Riley, 134 S.Ct. at 2486–87. The Court advised that any broader concerns regarding use of the data on a cell phone immediately after arrest should be addressed through established exceptions to the warrant requirement such as exigent circumstances. Riley, 134 S.Ct. at 2485, 2487–88.
¶ 8 Part of the rationale for a search incident to arrest is an arrestee's diminished expectation of privacy, but even with that diminished expectation, where the privacy concern is important enough, a warrant may be necessary. Riley, 134 S.Ct. at 2488. The Court rejected the State's argument that the search of cell phone data was materially indistinguishable from a search of other physical items, stating: Id. The Court discussed the various and versatile uses of cell phones, their immense storage capacity, their pervasive use and the highly personal nature of the data stored on each phone, all of which differ significantly from physical records and items that any person is likely to carry. Riley, 134 S.Ct. at 2488–91. Furthermore, the Court recognized that the data on a cell phone-the contents that officers wish to search-may be stored remotely, not on the device itself. Authorizing a warrantless search of data would thus resemble, as the opinion puts it, “finding a key in a suspect's pocket and arguing that it allowed law enforcement to unlock and search a house.” Riley, 134 S.Ct. at 2491. The Court rejected partial solutions to these concerns in favor of a bright-line test, easy for officers to understand and apply.
¶ 9 The trial court here, anticipating the decision in Riley, correctly found that Thomas's right to privacy in the contents of his cell phone precluded its search incident to his arrest. The trial court did not abuse its discretion in granting Thomas's motion to suppress the evidence gained from the illegal search. Bass, 2013 OK CR 7, ¶ 10, 300 P.3d at 1196.
¶ 10 In Proposition I, the State argues the evidence should not have been suppressed because officers only downloaded the pictures from Thomas's phone after they got a warrant, and there was probable cause for the warrant. The State notes that Thomas was walking in a high drug area, next to houses under surveillance for drug activity and for which police had search warrants, and that he possessed marijuana when he was stopped. The State contends that all this would have supported a finding of probable cause for the search warrant. However, the warrant itself explicitly states that, while looking through Thomas's phone, the affiant saw several pictures of Thomas holding crack cocaine, guns and cash. The affiant uses these photographs as the basis for the probable cause for the search warrant. The State tacitly admits that the affidavit relied solely on the warrantless, unconsented search, arguing only that it should not be void because the other information in the warrant could have established probable cause. While the other information might have established probable cause to arrest and search Thomas, it did not establish probable cause to search the contents of Thomas's cell phone. The State also relies on the fact that officers were about to serve warrants on the two residences. There is nothing in the record, other than the pictures on his phone, which directly connects Thomas to either residence, and those residence warrants cannot justify the search of Thomas's phone.
¶ 11 The State also argues that, even if the search warrant for the phone lacked probable cause (because it was based on the results of the unconsented, warrantless search), the evidence should not be suppressed because the officers relied on the warrant in good faith. The State inexplicably appears to argue that in cases dating back to 1992, this Court adopted the good faith...
To continue reading
Request your trial