State v. Williams, 17710

Citation116 S.E.2d 858,237 S.C. 252
Decision Date07 November 1960
Docket NumberNo. 17710,17710
CourtUnited States State Supreme Court of South Carolina
PartiesSTATE, Respondent, v. Claude WILLIAMS, Appellant.

D. M. McEachin, Florence, for appellant.

Richard G. Dusenbury, Sol., Florence, for respondent.

OXNER, Justice.

Appellant, a Negro, was charged in one indictment with robbery, grand larceny and assault with a deadly weapon, and in another indictment with possessing, transporting and rescuing contraband liquor from the possession of a peace officer. With his consent, the two cases were tried together. During the course of the trial the Court directed a verdict of not guilty upon the count charging rescuing liquor from an officer and later the solicitor nol prossed the other liquor charges. The case was submitted to the jury only upon the indictment first mentioned. The jury returned a verdict of guilty of larceny and assault of a high and aggravated nature. A motion for a new trial was denied and appellant was sentenced to imprisonment for a term of six years on each offense, the sentences to run concurrently.

We shall first determine whether the Court below erred in refusing a motion for a directed verdict on the assault charge upon the ground that the undisputed evidence showed that the alleged assault was made while resisting an attempted unlawful arrest.

During the late afternoon of October 18, 1958, a highway patrolman stopped a Chevrolet automobile driven by appellant's brother, Daniel Williams, in a rural section of Florence County. Just before the car stopped, the patrolman noticed appellant, Claude Williams, who was sitting on the front seat with his brother, bend over 'like he was putting something under the sent.' The patrol car was stopped about six or eight feet behind the Williams car. Daniel got out and the patrolman asked to see his license. After inspecting same, he asked Daniel who was with him. Daniel replied that it was his brother. The patrolman, who had no warrant, then went around the right side of the Williams car and asked appellant to 'step back out of the car.' When appellant did so, the patrolman says he saw a jar of unstamped liquor 'sticking out from under the front seat.' He removed this jar and another jar of liquor found under the front seat, placed them on the left side of his car, and asked Daniel and appellant to stand between the two cars. He then got in his car and radioed a deputy sheriff. While he did so, Daniel left the place where he was asked to stand and walked toward the Williams car. As the patrolman brought Daniel back, appellant proceeded up the road on the shoulder. The patrolman overtook him and placed his hand on his shoulder. Appellant said he was not going back and jerked loose. When he had done so several times, the patrolman says he drew his gun and asked Daniel to try to get his brother not to resist. After some conversation, appellant quieted down and was brought back between the two cars and the patrolman replaced his gun in the holster. He testified that when he got out of his car after again using the radio, appellant suddenly caught him by the arm and after a struggle took his pistol from the holster. Appellant then went down the road approximately 30 or 40 yards and stopped. Daniel picked up the two jars of liquor, carred them to his brother, and returned to his automobile where after some difficulty, he was handcuffed by the patrolman. Appellant, after getting the liquor from Daniel, ran across the field and disappeared.

Appellant testified that he knew nothing about liquor being in the car until told by his brother after seeing the patrolman behind them. He denied that one of the fruit jars was sticking out from under the front seat, stating that it was not visible. He testified that the patrolman threatened to shoot him and he then grabbed the pistol from the patrolman's hand. Appellant said after the had gone down the road a distance of about 300 yards, he threw the pistol in a field of 'pea forage'. It was never found. The liquor was found the next morning. Daniel was later indicted and pleaded guilty to transporting it.

Under the terms of Section 46-854 of the 1952 Code, highway patrolmen are required to enforce the laws of this State relative to highway traffic and motor vehicles and are given the same authority and power possessed by a deputy sheriff to enforce the criminal laws of this State. Accordingly, it has been held that a highway patrolman is empowered to arrest without a warrant any person who commits a misdemeanor in his presence. Yongue v. National Surety Corporation, 190 S.C. 421, 3 S.E.2d 198. With certain exceptions not material here, a person is required to have a driver's license to operate a motor vehicle on the highways of this State, Section 46-142, Code Supplement. Such license must be kept in his immediate possession while driving and displayed upon demand of any police officer. Section 46-162, Code Supplement. The right of a patrolman to stop a car for the purpose of requiring the driver to exhibit his license has never been questioned. Of course, such right must be exercised 'in good faith and not as a pretext or subterfuge for an inspection of or a prying into the contents of an automobile or any other possession of a citizen.' Robertson v. State, 184 Tenn. 277, 198 S.W.2d 633, 635.

There is no proof here that the patrolman did not act in good faith in stopping the automobile. He had a right to stop the car for the purpose of determining whether the driver had a license. Appellant's basic complaint is that after the car was stopped, he was unlawfully arrested, following which there was an unlawful search. But we think the evidence reasonably warrants a conclusion that appellant was not arrested until after the officer found the liquor. So far as appellant is concerned, the only act of the patrolman prior to that time was to request him to get out of the car. This cannot be said as a matter of law to amount to an arrest. 'To constitute an arrest, there must be an actual or constructive seizure or detention of the person, performed with the intention to effect an arrest and so understood by the person detained.' Jenkins v. United States, 10 Cir., 161 F.2d 99, 101. It is not necessary 'that there be an application of actual force, or manual touching of the body, or physical restraint which may be visible to the eye, or a formal declaration of arrest; it is sufficient if the person arrested understands that he is in the power of the one arresting and submits in consequence. However, in all cases in which there is no manual touching or seizure or any resistance, the intentions of the parties to the transaction are very important; there must have been intent on the part of one of them to arrest the other, and intent on the part of such other to submit, under the belief and impression that submission was necessary. There can be no arrest where the person sought to be arrested as not conscious of any restraint of his liberty.' 4 Am.Jur., Arrest, Section 2. Also, see 6 C.J.S. Arrest § 1; Restatement, Torts, Section 112.

The patrolman testified that he did not consider that Daniel was under arrest until after the liquor was found. The following testimony of appellant also indicates that he did not consider himself under arrest when he stepped out of the car:

'Q. What did you walk away for in the first place when the officer told you to stand there? A. I didn't walk away. I walked up the side of the car.

'Q. Why? A. He hadn't told me about an arrest or nothing.'

Neither, according to the patrolman's testimony, was there a search of the car. He says that after appellant got out the liquor was plainly visible. In Boyd v. United States, 4 Cir., 286 F. 930, 931, Judge Woods, who served on this Court for a number of years with distinction, said: 'It is not a search in any legal or colloquial sense for an officer to look into automobile standing on the roadside.'

The facts in State v. Quinn, 111 S.C. 174, 97 S.E. 62, 63, 3 A.L.R. 1500, are similar in some respects. There an automobile occupied by five men whom the officers suspected of violating the liquor laws stopped at a railroad crossing for a passing freight train. Two rural policemen came up, one on each side of the car. They observed a quart of liquor on the back seat and another on the front seat. Both quarts were seized. They also noticed that one...

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  • State v. Gervasio
    • United States
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    ...A.2d 1 (1971); State v. Allen, 282 N.C. 503, 194 S.E.2d 9 (1973); State v. Maloney, 109 R.I. 166, 283 A.2d 34 (1971); State v. Williams, 237 S.C. 252, 116 S.E.2d 858 (1960); Murphy v. State, 194 Tenn. 698, 254 S.W.2d 979 (1953); Fatemi v. State, 558 S.W.2d 463 (Tex.Cr.App.1977); Faulkner v.......
  • State v. Brannon
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    ...306 S.C. 268, 270, 411 S.E.2d 428, 429 (1991). However, there is a paucity of law defining when an arrest begins. In State v. Williams, 237 S.C. 252, 116 S.E.2d 858 (1960), Williams was convicted of robbery, grand larceny and assault with a deadly weapon. While detained by a highway patrol ......
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    ...United States v. Berry, 369 F.2d 386 (3rd Cir. 1966); Mincy v. District of Columbia, 218 A.2d 507 (D.C.C.A. 1966); State v. Williams (1960) 237 S.C. 252, 116 S.E.2d 858.) The random stopping of motorists is upheld as reasonable because the inconvenience suffered by the motorist is relativel......
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