U.S. v. Hanrahan

• Decision Date: 13 November 2007
• Docket Number: No. 06-2268.,06-2268.
• Citation: 508 F.3d 962
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Robert Michael HANRAHAN, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Tenth Circuit

508 F.3d 962

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Robert Michael HANRAHAN, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 06-2268.

United States Court of Appeals, Tenth Circuit.

November 13, 2007.

Jane Greek, Assistant Federal Public Defender, Office of the Federal Public Defender for the District of New Mexico, Las Cruces, NM, appearing for Appellant.

Judith A. Patton, Assistant United States Attorney (Johnny Sutton, United States Attorney, with her on the brief), Office of the United States Attorney for the Western District of Texas, San Antonio, TX, appearing for Appellee.

Before TACHA, Chief Circuit Judge, BALDOCK, and KELLY, Circuit Judges.

TACHA, Chief Circuit Judge.

A jury convicted Defendant-Appellant Robert Hanrahan of being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(e). The District Court sentenced him to 235 months' imprisonment. He appeals both his conviction and sentence. We exercise jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 and AFFIRM.

I. BACKGROUND

On July 15, 2004, Deputy Lawrence Tonna of the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department was dispatched to the area of 1014 Ortega Road in Albuquerque, New Mexico to investigate an attempted burglary. The dispatcher reported that two male suspects had left the scene and were headed east on Ortega Road in a "primer gray" 1970s or 1980s full-sized Ford pickup truck. When Deputy Tonna arrived at the location of the alleged attempted burglary, witnesses confirmed the description of the vehicle and said that the truck had turned north onto South Guadalupe Trail. Several minutes later, Deputy Tonna spotted a truck on South Guadalupe Trail resembling the description provided to him by the dispatcher and witnesses. Although the body of the truck was "primer gray," the cab was painted white, and there was only one occupant.

Deputy Tonna pulled behind the truck and noticed that the truck's license plate was placed inside the lower right-hand corner of the rear windshield, rather than affixed to the bumper of the truck, which Deputy Tonna believed to be a violation of New Mexico law. He also noticed that the truck's registration sticker was the wrong color for the registration year, and that it read "96," indicating that the truck's registration had expired in 1996. Based on these observations, Deputy Tonna activated the lights on his patrol car to initiate a traffic stop. The truck immediately pulled over.

Before approaching the truck, Deputy Tonna ran a license-plate check, which confirmed that the truck's registration had expired in 1996. Deputy Tonna then approached the driver's side of the truck and asked the driver, Mr. Hanrahan, for his license, registration, and proof of insurance. Mr. Hanrahan did not have any of these documents. Deputy Tonna noticed that the steering column of the truck was broken and that wires were dangling from the ignition mechanism, indicating to Deputy Tonna that the vehicle might have been stolen. After two back-up deputies arrived, Deputy Tonna ordered Mr. Hanrahan out of the vehicle.

While Deputy Tonna escorted Mr. Hanrahan to the back of the truck, Deputy Levi Swint, one of the back-up officers, looked inside the truck's cab and saw a small gun in plain view next to the driver's seatbelt latch. He asked Mr. Hanrahan whether it was a gun or a lighter made to look like a gun. Mr. Hanrahan, who was facing away from the cab, acknowledged that it was, in fact, a gun. He further said that it belonged to a friend and that it was inoperable. Deputy Tonna, after noticing tattoos on Mr. Hanrahan's body that the deputy knew to be associated with a prison gang, asked Mr. Hanrahan whether he had served time in prison. Mr. Hanrahan admitted serving six years for armed robbery. Deputy Tonna then confirmed Mr. Hanrahan's criminal history and arrested him for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

On October 7, 2004, a grand jury indicted Mr. Hanrahan for being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § § 922(g)(1) and 924(e). Prior to trial, Mr. Hanrahan moved to suppress physical evidence and the statements he made during the traffic stop, arguing that he was stopped without reasonable suspicion of criminal activity in violation of the Fourth Amendment. The District Court denied the motion. The case went to trial, where Mr. Hanrahan testified in his own behalf. The jury was unable to reach a verdict, and the District Court declared a mistrial. The Government retried Mr. Hanrahan. At the second trial, over Mr. Hanrahan's objection, the District Court allowed the Government to read Mr. Hanrahan's prior testimony into evidence. This time, the jury convicted Mr. Hanrahan.

A presentence report ("PSR") was prepared for sentencing. Because Mr. Hanrahan was considered an "armed career criminal," see 18 U.S.C. § 924(e),¹ the PSR stated that he was subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of fifteen years' (180 months) imprisonment, see id. In addition, due to his status as an armed career criminal, the PSR calculated Mr. Hanrahan's base offense level at 33 and placed him in Criminal History Category VI, which produced an advisory range of 235-293 months' imprisonment under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines ("Guidelines" or "U.S.S.G."). See U.S.S.G. § 4B1.4(b)(3)(B); U.S.S.G. Ch. 5 pt. A. The District Court ultimately concluded that a sentence within the applicable Guidelines range was appropriate and sentenced Mr. Hanrahan to 235 months' imprisonment, as well as three years' supervised release. The court imposed a special condition on Mr. Hanrahan's supervised release — namely, that he submit to suspicionless searches when requested to do so.

Mr. Hanrahan now appeals, arguing that (1) the District Court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence; (2) the District Court admitted Mr. Hanrahan's testimony from the first trial in violation of his Fifth Amendment privilege against selfincrimination; (3) there was insufficient evidence to support his conviction; (4) his sentence is unreasonably long; and (5) the court abused its discretion in imposing the special condition on his supervised release.

II. DISCUSSION

A. Denial of the Motion to Suppress

In reviewing the district court's denial of a motion to suppress evidence, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the government and accept the court's factual findings unless clearly erroneous. United States v. Patterson, 472 F.3d 767, 775 (10th Cir.2006). It is within the province of the district court to assess the credibility of witnesses, weigh the evidence, and draw reasonable inferences therefrom. United States v. Tibbetts, 396 F.3d 1132, 1136 (10th Cir.2005). We review de novo the ultimate determination of reasonableness under the Fourth Amendment. Patterson, 472 F.3d at 775.

Whether a traffic stop is constitutional is a two-step inquiry. First, we consider whether the officer's action is justified at its inception. Id. (quotations omitted). Second, we consider whether the traffic stop "was reasonably related in scope to the circumstances that justified the interference in the first place." Id. Because Mr. Hanrahan does not argue that the deputies unjustifiably exceeded the permissible scope of the traffic stop, our focus in this case is on the first inquiry.

A traffic stop is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment if the officer had reasonable suspicion that the driver "violated any one of the multitude of applicable traffic and equipment regulations of the jurisdiction." Id. (quotations omitted). Deputy Tonna initiated a traffic stop because he believed that the truck's registration had expired, see N.M. Stat. Ann. § 66-3-18(C) (prohibiting operating a vehicle with a registration sticker for other than the current registration period), and because he believed that Mr. Hanrahan's license plate was unlawfully displayed in the truck's rear window, see N.M. Stat. Ann. § 66-3-18(A) (requiring the registration plate to be attached to the rear of the vehicle and clearly visible). Mr. Hanrahan does not contest that a violation of either statutory provision would support a traffic stop; rather, he argues that (1) Deputy Tonna could not have seen the date on the registration sticker and therefore had no basis under N.M. Stat. Ann. § 66-3-18(C) to stop him; and (2) it is not unlawful to display a license plate in the window of a vehicle, so N.M. Stat. Ann. § 66-3-18(A) similarly provides no basis for the stop. He also maintains that Deputy Tonna lacked reasonable suspicion to stop him for the alleged attempted burglary.

As to the first contention, Mr. Hanrahan maintains that Deputy Tonna could not have seen the registration sticker because the traffic stop occurred late at night in a neighborhood without street lights, and because the license plate was placed on the rear window above the beam of the patrol car's headlights. During the suppression hearing, however, Deputy Tonna testified that when he began following the truck, his patrol car's headlights illuminated the truck and he "immediately noticed" that the registration sticker was "different than it should have been." Specifically, he observed that the sticker was red with white lettering, while the current registration year's sticker was gray with black lettering. He also noticed that "96," instead of "04" was printed on the sticker. At that point, Deputy Tonna effected the traffic stop. The District Court found Deputy Tonna's testimony credible and therefore determined that the stop was warranted because he had reasonable suspicion that Mr. Hanrahan had violated N.M. Stat. Ann. § 66-3-18(C). Because the court's factual finding is supported by the evidence, it is not clearly erroneous. The traffic stop was therefore justified on this basis, and we need not reach Mr. Hanrahan's other arguments on this point.

B. Admission of Mr. Hanrahan's Prior Testimony

Mr. Hanrahan next argues that the District Court violated his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination...