Cisneros v. Shinn

CourtDistrict Court, D. Arizona
DecidedJune 7, 2022
Docket4:19-cv-00275-JAS
StatusUnknown

This text of Cisneros v. Shinn (Cisneros v. Shinn) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Arizona primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Cisneros v. Shinn, (D. Ariz. 2022).

Opinion

1 WO 2 3 4 5 6 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 7 FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA 8 9 Oscar Adrian Cisneros, No. CV-19-0275-TUC-JAS (BGM)

10 Petitioner, REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION 11 v.

12 David Shinn, et al. 13 Respondents. 14 Currently pending before the Court is Petitioner Oscar Adrian Cisneros’s pro se 15 Petition Under 28 U.S.C. § 2254 for a Writ of Habeas Corpus by a Person in State Custody 16 (Non-Death Penalty) (“Petition”) (Doc. 1). Respondents have filed a Limited Answer to 17 Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus (“Answer”) (Doc. 21), and Petitioner has not replied. 18 The Petition (Doc. 1) is ripe for adjudication. 19 Pursuant to Rules 72.1 and 72.2 of the Local Rules of Civil Procedure,1 this matter 20 was referred to Magistrate Judge Macdonald for Report and Recommendation. The 21 Magistrate Judge recommends that the District Court dismiss the Petition (Doc. 1). 22 23 I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND 24 A. Initial Charge, Trial, and Sentencing 25 The Arizona Court of Appeals stated the facts2 as follows:

26 1 Rules of Practice of the United States District Court for the District of Arizona. 27 2 As these state court findings are entitled to a presumption of correctness and Petitioner 28 has failed to show by clear and convincing evidence that the findings are erroneous, the Court hereby adopts these factual findings. 28 U.S.C. § 2254(e)(1); Schriro v. Landrigan, 550 U.S. 465, 1 In February 2016, an officer with the criminal interdiction unit of the Safford Police Department saw a car parked left of center, within twenty feet 2 of an intersection, and in front of a house known for drug activity. See A.R.S. 3 § 28-873(A)(7). After the officer pulled behind the parked car, Cisneros, who had been sitting in the driver’s seat, exited, stood up, and closed the 4 door. The officer approached Cisneros and told him to park the car with the 5 right wheels to the curb; Cisneros responded that he was waiting for someone. The officer asked for identification and Cisneros said his driver’s 6 license was inside the house, but identified himself and gave his birthdate. 7 Noticing that Cisneros had become nervous and that he had a bulge in his pocket, the officer asked whether he had a weapon, and Cisneros said he had 8 “nothing.” Suspicious that he was armed, the officer attempted to frisk 9 Cisneros. Cisneros broke free and fled. 10 The officer called for assistance and remained with the car. He then glanced through the window and saw a wallet with identification and cash, 11 “some bags on the center console,” and the keys in the ignition. Feeling “it was important that none of that be disturbed,” the officer instructed another 12 officer to guard the car while he searched for Cisneros. Upon returning from 13 an unsuccessful search, the officer became concerned that the car might contain weapons, drugs, or even a person in the trunk. Feeling “responsib[le] 14 for this car” and that he “had an absolute duty to take care of [it],” the officer 15 decided to tow it pursuant to department policy because he feared “the department could be liable for the property in the vehicle, the vehicle itself, 16 or the vehicle could be a danger to the community.” Before doing so, 17 however, the officer requested that a canine unit respond to smell the exterior of the car. The unit arrived, but the dog did not alert. In preparation for 18 towing, the officer opened the car door to inventory its contents and 19 immediately smelled the odor of raw marijuana. 20 The officer then searched the car and found methamphetamine, heroin, marijuana, hydrocodone, drug paraphernalia, and a “spiked mace 21 club.” Having discovered the drugs and club, the officer determined it would not be appropriate to tow the vehicle to a private lot and decided instead to 22 have another officer drive the car to the police impound lot. 23 Below, Cisneros argued the officer’s decision to tow the car and 24 inventory its contents was “an unlawful subterfuge for a warrantless search” aimed at “rummag[ing] through [his] vehicle for evidence of . . . criminal 25 activity.” The court denied Cisneros’s motion to suppress the evidence 26 finding that he had abandoned the car when he fled and that it would have 27 473–74, 127 S. Ct. 1933, 1940, 167 L. Ed. 2d 836 (2007); Wainwright v. Witt, 469 U.S. 412, 426, 28 105 S. Ct. 844, 853, 83 L. Ed. 2d 841 (1985); Cf. Rose v. Lundy, 455 U.S. 509, 519, 102 S. Ct. 1198, 1204, 71 L. Ed. 2d 379 (1982). 1 been “extremely [ir]responsible” for the officer to have left the car parked in front of a house where he believed drug activity to be taking place. 2 Accordingly, the court determined the officer reasonably decided to tow the 3 car pursuant to department policy and the community caretaking function. And, once the officer opened the car door and smelled marijuana, he had 4 probable cause to search the vehicle under the plain-smell doctrine. See State 5 v. Sisco, 239 Ariz. 532 ¶ 1 (2016). 6 After trial, the jury found Cisneros guilty of possession of a dangerous drug for sale, possession of a narcotic drug, possession of marijuana, 7 possession of drug paraphernalia, failure to provide a driver’s license or 8 evidence of identity to law enforcement, and two counts of misconduct involving weapons. The court sentenced Cisneros to a combination of 9 concurrent and consecutive prison terms totaling twenty-two years. 10 Answer (Doc. 21), State v. Cisneros, No. 2 CA-CR 2017-0162, Mem. Decision at 4–53 11 (Ariz. Ct. App. May 7, 2018) (alterations in original) (Exh. “A”) (Doc. 21-1). 12 B. Direct Appeal 13 On November 2, 2017, Petitioner filed his opening brief, alleging three (3) grounds 14 for relief. See Answer (Doc. 21), Appellant’s Opening Br., State v. Cisneros, No. 2 CA- 15 CR 2017-0162 (Ariz. Ct. App. Nov. 2, 2017) (Exh. “B”) (Doc. 21-1). Petitioner asserted 16 that the trial court erred when it denied his motion to suppress regarding the search of his 17 car, thereby violating Article II § 8 of the Arizona Constitution, as well as Petitioner’s 18 rights under the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution. Id., Exh. “B” at 11– 19 30. First, Petitioner urged that the officer’s search of his car was not based on reasonable, 20 articulable suspicion that a crime was being committed, and therefore was not valid under 21 the automobile exception to the Fourth Amendment. Id., Exh. “B” at 21–24. Next, 22 Petitioner argued that the officer’s search of his car was not a legitimate inventory search 23 but rather a ruse to conduct a warrantless search. Id., Exh. “B” at 24–26. Finally, Petitioner 24 asserted that the officer failed to follow the proper procedures for dealing with an 25 abandoned or impounded vehicle and did not have lawful possession of the vehicle at the 26 time of the search. Id., Exh. “B” at 26–28. On January 29, 2018, the State filed its 27 Answering Brief. See Answer (Doc. 21), Appellee’s Answering Br., State v. Cisneros, No. 28 3 Page citations refer to the CM/ECF page numbers, unless otherwise noted. 1 2 CA-CR 2017-0162 (Ariz. Ct. App. Jan. 29, 2018) (Exh. “C”) (Doc. 21-1). On February 2 15, 2018, Petitioner replied. See Answer (Doc. 21), Appellant’s Reply Br., State v. 3 Cisneros, No. 2 CA-CR 2017-0162 (Ariz. Ct. App. Feb. 15, 2018) (Exh. “D”) (Doc. 21-1). 4 On May 7, 2018, the Arizona Court of Appeals affirmed Petitioner’s convictions 5 and sentences. See Answer (Doc. 21), State v. Cisneros, No. 2 CA-CR 2017-0162, Mem. 6 Decision (Ariz. Ct. App. May 7, 2018) (Exh. “A”) (Doc. 21-1).

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