U.S. v. Cartledge

• Decision Date: 01 March 1991
• Docket Number: No. 90-5672,90-5672
• Parties: 32 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 547 UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Larry Reginald CARTLEDGE, Defendant-Appellee.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fourth Circuit

Page 93

928 F.2d 93

32 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 547

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Larry Reginald CARTLEDGE, Defendant-Appellee.

No. 90-5672.

United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.

Argued Jan. 11, 1991.

Decided March 1, 1991.

Lisa Blue Boggs, Asst. U.S. Atty., argued, Greensboro, N.C., for plaintiff-appellant.

Edward A. Fiorella, Jr., Charlotte, N.C., argued (Robert H. Edmunds, Jr., U.S. Atty., Greensboro, N.C., on brief), for defendant-appellee.

Before SPROUSE and WILKINS, Circuit Judges, and ELLIS, District Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia, sitting by designation.

SPROUSE, Circuit Judge:

Larry Cartledge was indicted for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in violation of 18 U.S.C. Secs. 922(g)(1) and 924(a). A North Carolina highway patrolman had stopped Cartledge's car for a seat belt violation and, after a consensual search, found the involved weapon--a handgun. On Cartledge's motion and after a hearing, the district court ordered that the evidence of the seat belt violation be suppressed, holding that a North Carolina statute prohibited the introduction of evidence of failure to wear a seat belt in collateral proceedings, thus constituting a privilege under Fed.R.Evid. 501, 742 F.Supp. 291. We reverse, but remand for a hearing on a separate issue.

I

On October 11, 1989, North Carolina Highway Patrolman A.C. Combs was assigned to the Interstate Task Force on Interstate 85 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Combs was operating a stationary radar check while parked in the median facing south. On that same day, the defendant, Larry Cartledge, was driving a 1984 Chevrolet Corvette north on Interstate 85. Cartledge's car was equipped with dark tinted windows.

At approximately 12:05 p.m., Cartledge passed Combs. Combs testified that Cartledge was not speeding, but that his suspicion was aroused by the tinted windows in the car because Combs "couldn't tell if [the driver] had his seat belt on or not." Combs testified that he could not see in the Corvette window when it passed his police cruiser. Combs, however, pursued the Corvette and, after determining that the driver was not wearing a seat belt, directed the car to stop.

After providing his South Carolina driver's license and car registration, Cartledge was asked to accompany Combs to the police car where he was issued a citation for driving without a seat belt in violation of N.C.Gen.Stat. Sec. 20-135.2A(a). ¹ After explaining the payment procedures for the citation, Combs asked Cartledge whether he had any alcohol or firearms in the car. Cartledge replied that he had a gun in the console and Combs asked if he could look in the car. Cartledge agreed and subsequently signed a consent-to-search form. ² In addition, Cartledge and his passenger were subjected to pat down searches by Combs. ³ During the pat down searches, $3,227 in currency was found in Cartledge's front pockets and a pocket knife was discovered in the passenger's possession.

During Combs' search of the vehicle, he found a loaded .380 handgun in the console and $21,625 in currency in a grocery bag underneath the speaker in the back seat. Cartledge stated that he was in possession of the money because he was en route to buy a truck from a dealer in Salisbury, North Carolina. Additional police officers were called to the scene and they brought with them a drug detection dog. The dog "hit" on the bag of money which was then seized. An extensive search of the vehicle failed to disclose any drugs or other contraband.

Cartledge was then charged under North Carolina law with carrying a concealed weapon. Both the seat belt and state weapons charges were later dismissed. The defendant was subsequently indicted in federal court for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in violation of 18 U.S.C. Secs. 922(g)(1) and 924(a).

II

Although failure to wear a seat belt is a traffic violation under N.C.Gen.Stat. Sec. 20-135.2A(a), Sec. 20-135.2A(d) prohibits using evidence of the seat belt violation other than in proceedings to enforce the traffic violation. The section states that: "[e]vidence of failure to wear a seat belt shall not be admissible in any criminal or civil trial, action, or proceeding except in an action based on violation of this section." Id.

In Cartledge's initial suppression motion to the district court, he argued that there had been no probable cause for Combs to stop his automobile, but that the stop had been made for pretextual reasons. He argued then, as now, that due to the tinted glass, Combs could not have seen whether he was wearing a seat belt--insisting that he indeed was wearing a seat belt. The district court's initial order granted Cartledge's motion to suppress on the grounds that the highway stop of his Corvette was pretextual and because the use of the evidence was prohibited by the North Carolina General Statute.

However, the district court later issued findings of fact and conclusions of law, which stated:

This court does not reach the merits of the parties' [pretext] argument because the North Carolina statute, which was the predicate for the stop, expressly prohibits the introduction of evidence of the failure to wear a seat belt in a criminal or civil proceeding unless the person is being tried for the traffic infraction itself. As the Government cannot meet its burden without the consideration of such evidence, the court must grant defendant's motion to suppress.

On appeal, the government contends that a federal court is not necessarily bound by a state rule of law creating an evidentiary privilege. Rather, the federal court must in each instance balance the consideration underlying the state legislative privilege against the need to enforce the federal criminal statute, and that here the federal purpose predominates. We agree.

III

The Federal Rules of Evidence provide, in pertinent part:

Preliminary questions concerning the qualification of a person to be a witness, the existence of a privilege, or the admissibility of evidence shall be determined by the court, subject to the provisions of subdivision (b). In making its determination it is not bound by the rules of evidence except those with respect to privileges.

Fed.R.Evid. 104(a). The Rules further provide:

Except as otherwise required by the Constitution of the United States or provided by Act of Congress or in rules prescribed by the Supreme Court pursuant to statutory authority, the privilege of a witness, person, government, State, or political subdivision thereof shall be governed by the principles of the common law as they may be interpreted by the courts of the United States in the light of reason and experience. However, in civil actions and proceedings, with respect to an element of a claim or defense as to which State law supplies the rule of decision, the privilege of a witness, person, government, State, or political subdivision thereof shall be determined in accordance with State law.

Fed.R.Evid. 501.

It is not entirely clear that the North Carolina legislature created an evidentiary privilege as contemplated by Fed.R.Evid. 501. We do not resolve that question, however, because we are persuaded that even if a privilege exists, the decision whether to suppress the evidence of the seat belt violation is controlled by the principle announced in United States v. Gillock, 445 U.S. 360, 100 S.Ct. 1185, 63 L.Ed.2d 454 (1980). See also United States v. Chiarella, 588 F.2d 1358, 1372 (2d Cir.1978) (evidentiary privilege under New York labor law does not provide privilege under Fed.R.Evid. 501).

In Gillock, the...