Swicegood v. State
| Citation | 448 So.2d 433 |
| Decision Date | 29 November 1983 |
| Docket Number | 6 Div. 564 |
| Parties | Paul Marion SWICEGOOD v. STATE. |
| Court | Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals |
Hugh C. Henderson, Birmingham, for appellant.
Charles A. Graddick, Atty. Gen., and Helen P. Nelson, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.
Appellant was convicted of violating the Alabama Uniform Controlled Substances Act; fined $25,000; and sentenced to ten years' imprisonment.
Appellant contends that the trial court committed reversible error when it failed to grant his motion to suppress; he asserts that his warrantless arrest was improper since there was no probable cause to justify it. This constitutional issue was the principal issue at trial.
Police Officer Bishop testified that on February 21, 1980, he and other officers proceeded to a motel after an informant had told them that an escaped prisoner was in room 204. They were also told that the escapee had drugs. After arresting the individual, the officers asked the motel manager to call them if anyone else came to that room.
Later that evening the police department received a call from the motel informing them that there were two people standing at the door of the room. Officer Bishop testified that as he pulled into the motel he saw two men standing in front of the room. There was some controversy at trial as to which room the men were near. The police officer shouted to them, "Freeze!", the appellant and his companion began to run, and Officer Bishop gave chase. He testified that as he rounded the corner he saw the appellant place a white sack in a garbage can. After the men were caught, Officer Bishop retrieved the white sack from the garbage can and found that it contained a quantity of pills.
The two suspects were then arrested. When asked at trial if the motel had been involved in other drug cases, Officer Bishop stated, "I really don't remember."
Section 15-10-3, Code of Alabama 1975, states:
(2) When a felony has been committed, though not in his presence, by the person arrested;
(3) When a felony has been committed and he has reasonable cause to believe that the person arrested committed it;
(4) When he has reasonable cause to believe that the person arrested has committed a felony, although it may afterwards appear that a felony had not in fact been committed; or
(5) On a charge made, upon reasonable cause, that the person arrested has committed a felony."
The "reasonable cause" or "probable cause" standard that must be met before a warrantless arrest can be made has been defined as follows:
"[R]easonable cause ... is knowledge of circumstances such as would lead a reasonable man of ordinary caution, acting impartially, reasonably and without prejudice, to believe the person arrested to be guilty." As quoted in Oliver v. State, 385 So.2d 69 (Ala.Cr.App.1980).
When Officer Bishop arrived at the motel, the appellant and his companion were standing in front of the door to a motel room. Even had the room number not been in issue, proximity to the door of a room where police officers had earlier arrested an escaped jail inmate by itself does not serve as the basis for a "reasonable belief" that those persons near the door had committed a crime. See, Ala.Digest and West's Federal Practice Digest, 2d, Criminal Law, Key No. 63.4(17).
Neither does the fact that someone tries to run away in and of itself justify a warrantless arrest according to our precedents. Foy v. State, 387 So.2d 321 (Ala.Cr.App.1980). Flight may be used to establish probable cause only when there are other circumstances tending to show that a felony had been committed. Foy, supra.
Since evidence seized as a result of an unlawful arrest is, of course, inadmissible, Foy, supra, the paper bag and its contents which were retrieved by Officer Bishop from the trash can could not be used as evidence against appellant at trial. It is true that the effect of an illegal stop or arrest may be cured when a defendant voluntarily abandons evidence. United States v. Beck, 602 F.2d 726 (5th Cir.1979). However, "... for this to occur the abandonment must be truly voluntary ...," Beck, supra, and it is obvious that appellant threw the paper bag away because he was being chased by police officers.
By statute a peace officer has the authority to stop and question a person for investigatory purposes even though the...
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Kirksey v. State
...a trial court's decision to deny a defendant the opportunity to visit a crime scene for abuse of discretion. See Swicegood v. State, 448 So.2d 433, 435 (Ala.Crim.App.1984) ; see also Vanpelt v. State, 74 So.3d 32, 37 (Ala.Crim.App.2009).On December 11, 2009, Kirksey filed a “Motion to Allow......
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Burgess v. State
...ordinary caution, acting impartially, reasonably, and without prejudice, to believe the person arrested is guilty. Swicegood v. State, 448 So.2d 433, 434 (Ala.Cr.App.1984). In determining whether [the police] had probable cause to arrest the defendant, the court must deal with probabilities......
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Vanpelt v. State, No. CR-06-1539 (Ala. Crim. App. 12/18/2009)
...discretion of the circuit court and will not be overturned absent a showing that the court abused its discretion. Swicegood v. State, 448 So. 2d 433, 435 (Ala. Crim. App. 1983). In Mason v. State, 768 So. 2d 981, 1004 (Ala. Crim. App. 1998), this court held that the circuit court did not ab......
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Vanpelt v. State
...discretion of the circuit court and will not be overturned absent a showing that the court abused its discretion. Swicegood v. State, 448 So.2d 433, 435 (Ala.Crim.App.1983). In Mason v. State, 768 So.2d 981, 1004 (Ala.Crim.App.1998), this court held that the circuit court did not abuse its ......