Wilson v. IDAHO TRANSP. DEPT.

• Decision Date: 25 June 2001
• Docket Number: No. 26412., No. 26135
• Parties: In the Matter of the Driver's License Suspension of Branon P. Wilson. Branon P. WILSON, Petitioner-Respondent, v. IDAHO TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT, Respondent-Appellant. State of Idaho, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Branon P. Wilson, Defendant-Respondent.
• Court: Idaho Court of Appeals

32 P.3d 164

136 Idaho 270

In the Matter of the Driver's License Suspension of Branon P. Wilson.

Branon P. WILSON, Petitioner-Respondent, v. IDAHO TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT, Respondent-Appellant.

State of Idaho, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Branon P. Wilson, Defendant-Respondent.

Nos. 26135, 26412.

Court of Appeals of Idaho.

June 25, 2001.

Review Denied September 24, 2001.

Hon. Alan G. Lance, Attorney General; Edwin L. Litteneker, Lewiston, for Idaho Transportation Department; T. Paul Krueger II, Boise, for State, Deputies Attorney General, for appellants. Edwin L. Litteneker and T. Paul Krueger II argued.

Radakovich Law Office, Lewiston, for respondent. Danny J. Radakovich argued. SCHWARTZMAN, Chief Judge.

In this consolidated appeal, the state appeals from the district court's affirmance of the magistrate's order granting Branon P. Wilson's motion to suppress evidence that he had been driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI), and the district court's order vacating the Idaho Transportation Department's administrative suspension of Wilson's driving privileges for failing a breath test for blood alcohol concentration.

I.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On October 20, 1998, at 2:25 a.m., the Lewiston 911 center received a call from Amber Joy Bryan, a resident of 3532 South Seventh Street, reporting that a Branon Wilson was at her residence; that Wilson had been drinking, had threatened people at her residence and had refused to leave when asked to do so several times; but shortly thereafter drove off in his truck—a maroon and gray 1979 Ford pick up, with confederate flags on the back, license number 49119. Bryan said that Wilson resided at a particular address on Fourteenth Street and was headed in that direction; and that he was "definitely drunk."

Lewiston Police Corporal Glen Rogers received a radio report from the police dispatcher informing him that a DUI suspect had left the 3500 block of Seventh Street southbound in a pickup truck. Rogers was about a half-mile to a mile away from the 3500 block of Seventh Street when he received the call. As Rogers proceeded in the direction towards which the suspect was headed, the dispatcher informed Rogers that the suspect vehicle was a 1979 maroon and silver Ford with an Idaho license N49119. Rogers saw the headlights of a vehicle proceeding south on Seventh Street from his vantage point across a canyon. After driving towards that location, Rogers then confirmed that it was the suspect vehicle when it passed in front of him. Rogers followed the truck and, although he did not observe any traffic violations himself, initiated a traffic stop. The pickup promptly pulled over in response to the emergency lights on Rogers' patrol car. Based upon his observations and evidentiary tests, Rogers arrested the driver, identified as Wilson, and charged him with DUI. At the station, Wilson's blood alcohol content was measured at .20 percent.

Wilson filed a motion to dismiss and a motion to suppress. At the hearing on Wilson's motions, the 911 recording was played and Rogers testified to the above facts. Rogers acknowledged that he had no reason to stop Wilson other than the information he had received from dispatch. Rogers admitted that he did not know Bryan and did not hear Bryan's conversation with the 911 operator prior to the actual traffic stop.

Wilson argued that there was no factual basis to support Bryan's conclusory opinion that he was intoxicated because she did not disclose any facts supporting her opinion and Rogers did not observe any indicia of driving under the influence. Wilson asserted that Rogers violated his Fourth Amendment rights by stopping him without reasonable suspicion based upon specific articulable facts that he was engaged or about to engage in criminal activity. The state argued that Bryan's information about Wilson's identity, direction of travel, etc., combined with her opinion that he was intoxicated was sufficient to establish reasonable suspicion to justify an investigative stop. The magistrate granted Wilson's motion to suppress on the ground that Rogers lacked reasonable suspicion of drunk driving absent some indicia of the informant's reliability and credibility. The state appealed to the district court. The district court affirmed the magistrate's memorandum opinion and order granting Wilson's motion to suppress. The state appeals again.

II.

STANDARD OF APPELLATE REVIEW

On review of a decision of the district court, rendered in its appellate capacity, we examine the record of the magistrate court independently of, but with due regard for, the district court's intermediate appellate decision. State v. Bitt, 118 Idaho 584, 585 n. 1, 798 P.2d 43, 44 n. 1 (1990); State v. Bowman, 124 Idaho 936, 939, 866 P.2d 193, 196 (Ct.App.1993).

III.

DISCUSSION

A. Standard Of Review Applicable To The Magistrate's Order Granting Wilson's Motion To Suppress

When reviewing a decision to grant or deny a motion to suppress evidence, this Court defers to the trial court's findings of fact unless they are clearly erroneous, but we must independently determine whether those facts show that the government's conduct complied with applicable constitutional standards. State v. Bush, 131 Idaho 22, 28, 951 P.2d 1249, 1255 (1997); State v. Weber, 116 Idaho 449, 452, 776 P.2d 458, 461 (1989); State v. Hawkins, 131 Idaho 396, 400, 958 P.2d 22, 26 (Ct.App.1998).

In this case the facts are undisputed. Bryan's calls to the 911 operator conveyed the following facts: that Wilson was at her residence at 3532 Seventh Street; that Wilson had been threatening people and had refused to leave when asked to do so several times; that he had been drinking and shortly thereafter drove off in his truck—a maroon and gray 1979 Ford pick-up, license number 49119; that Wilson resided at a particular place (Fourteenth Street) and was headed in that direction; and that he was "definitely drunk." We further note that the complainant was an ordinary citizen, not out of the criminal milieu, who left her name and address. In addition, the tape recording of her call to the 911 operator was played to the court and was corroborated by the fact that Wilson's vehicle was at the approximate place at the approximate time she indicated.

We are therefore presented with an issue of law—whether, on these facts, Wilson's Fourth Amendment rights were violated by the seizure of his person and vehicle at the moment Rogers initiated the traffic stop of his truck. We hold that Wilson's rights were not violated.

B. Constitutional Requirements For A Traffic Stop

The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution protects against unreasonable searches and seizures. When a defendant challenges the validity of a vehicle stop or other seizure, the burden is on the State to prove that the stop was justified. Florida v. Royer, 460 U.S. 491, 498, 103 S.Ct. 1319, 1324, 75 L.Ed.2d 229, 236-37 (1983); State v. Sevy, 129 Idaho 613, 614-15, 930 P.2d 1358, 1359-60 (Ct.App.1997). To pass constitutional muster, an investigative detention must be based upon reasonable suspicion, derived from specific articulable facts that the person stopped has committed or is about to commit a crime. Royer, 460 U.S. at 498, 103 S.Ct. at 1324, 75 L.Ed.2d at 237; Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 21, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 1880, 20 L.Ed.2d 889, 906 (1968); Sevy, 129 Idaho at 615, 930 P.2d at 1360. The reasonableness of a stop is determined by looking at the totality of the circumstances confronting the officer at the time of the stop. United States v. Cortez, 449 U.S. 411, 417, 101 S.Ct. 690, 695, 66 L.Ed.2d 621, 629 (1981); State v. Osborne, 121 Idaho 520, 526, 826 P.2d 481, 487 (Ct.App.1991). "Based upon that whole picture the detaining officers must have a particularized and objective basis for suspecting the particular person stopped of criminal activity." Cortez, 449 U.S. at 417-18, 101 S.Ct. at 695, 66 L.Ed.2d at 629. Reasonable suspicion may be supplied by an informant's tip or a citizen's report of suspect activity. Whether information from such a source is sufficient to create reasonable suspicion depends upon the content and reliability of the information presented by the source, including whether the informant reveals her identity and the basis of her knowledge. See Alabama v. White, 496 U.S. 325, 330, 110 S.Ct. 2412, 2416, 110 L.Ed.2d 301, 309 (1990)

; Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 76 L.Ed.2d 527 (1983); Adams v. Williams, 407 U.S. 143, 146-47, 92 S.Ct. 1921, 1923-24, 32 L.Ed.2d 612, 617 (1972).

C. The Reliability Of Bryan's 911 Report Of A Drunk Driver

Unlike an anonymous tip, which alone and absent sufficient indicia of knowledge and veracity is insufficient to justify a stop, State v. Etherington, 129 Idaho 463, 465, 926 P.2d 1310, 1312 (Ct.App.1996), an identified victim-witness' or concerned citizen's report to the police may be presumed reliable, such that the police are not required to establish either the credibility of the informant or the reliability of his information. See State v. O'Bryan, 96 Idaho 548, 552, 531 P.2d 1193, 1197 (1975)

. Where the information comes from a known citizen informant rather than an anonymous tipster, the citizen's disclosure of her identity, which carries the risk of accountability if the allegations turn out to be fabricated, is generally deemed adequate to show veracity and reliability. State v. Larson, 135 Idaho 99, 101, 15 P.3d 334, 336 (Ct.App.2000) (citing Gates, 462 U.S. at 233,

103 S.Ct. at 2329,

76 L.Ed.2d at 545).

In Larson, a Meridian Police officer was dispatched to a woman's home after she complained of a drunken Hispanic-looking man knocking on her apartment door. Id. at 100, 15 P.3d at 335. When the officer arrived, the dispatcher, who was in continuous contact with the complainant, advised him that the drunken man was leaving the scene in a GMC pickup with a shell. Id. The officer flagged down a red GMC pickup with a shell and driver...