Couldery v. State

890 So. 2d 959, 2004 WL 2860416
CourtCourt of Appeals of Mississippi
DecidedDecember 14, 2004
Docket2003-KA-00494-COA
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 890 So. 2d 959 (Couldery v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Couldery v. State, 890 So. 2d 959, 2004 WL 2860416 (Mich. Ct. App. 2004).

Opinion

890 So.2d 959 (2004)

Robert COULDERY a/k/a Robert B.J. Couldery, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Mississippi, Appellee.

No. 2003-KA-00494-COA.

Court of Appeals of Mississippi.

December 14, 2004.

*960 Shawna Anne Murrell, Columbia, SC, Kathryn N. Nester, Jackson, attorneys for appellant.

Office of the Attorney General by Jean Smith Vaughan, attorney for appellee.

EN BANC.

LEE, P.J., for the Court.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 1. On July 24, 2000, Robert Couldery was returning to New York from a vacation in California. Couldery had secured a rental car bearing California tags for his return home, and was driving east on Interstate 20 between Brandon and Pelahatchie when he saw a marked Mississippi Highway Patrol car parked on the right shoulder of the interstate. Before passing the vehicle, Couldery changed from the right lane of traffic to the left lane. Trooper Brad Vincent occupied the patrol car, and after Couldery passed, Officer Vincent observed Couldery for a moment *961 as he continued to drive in the left-hand lane. Officer Vincent then pulled out from the shoulder of the interstate and began to follow Couldery. After following Couldery for about thirty seconds, Officer Vincent turned on his blue lights and pulled Couldery over for driving in the left-hand lane. Officer Vincent gathered Couldery's license and registration information and ran his license plate information through the computer. Finding no outstanding warrants on Couldery, Officer Vincent began to question him about the purpose and nature of his trip.

¶ 2. Officer Vincent then asked Couldery if he could search his vehicle. Couldery denied Officer Vincent access to the vehicle, and Officer Vincent then ordered Couldery to move his vehicle to a different location to await the arrival of a K-9 unit. With Officer Vincent still in possession of Couldery's license, Couldery followed Vincent to a gas station four or five miles away. Officer John King of the Pelahatchie Police Department K-9 Unit arrived at the gas station, spoke with Officer Vincent, and then worked his K-9 around Couldery's vehicle. The K-9 attempted to enter through the window on the driver's side, which was open. The K-9 also showed interest in the trunk area of the car.

¶ 3. Officer Vincent opened the rear car door and discovered a small bag on the back seat that contained syringes and two small bottles of what appeared to be steroids. After finding the drugs, Officers Vincent and King opened the trunk of the car in which they found two suitcases. Couldery stated that he did not have the key to one of the suitcases, so the officers pried the suitcase open with a metal bar. The opened suitcase revealed a large variety of medications, which Officer Vincent identified as steroids. The second suitcase was opened as well, and it contained clothing in addition to steroids. Couldery was then placed under arrest.

¶ 4. Couldery was convicted for violating Mississippi Code Annotated Section 41-29-139 (1972) on two counts of possession of a Schedule III controlled substance. Couldery was sentenced on Count I to twenty-four years with eighteen years suspended and on Count II to sixteen years with twelve years suspended, all in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections with five years of supervised probation. It is from this conviction that Couldery now appeals, arguing seven points of error: (1) the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress, as Couldery's seizure and detention constituted an unlawful arrest and was in violation of the United States Constitution and the Mississippi Constitution; (2) the trial court erred in denying Couldery's motion for a continuance in light of discovery violations by the State; (3) the trial court erred by denying Couldery's motion for a mistrial due to comments by the State during opening statements; (4) the trial court erred in admitting testimony regarding Couldery's statements made while he was in custody but before he was advised of his Miranda warnings; (5) the trial court erred in denying Couldery's motion for a directed verdict; (6) the trial court erred in denying Couldery's proposed jury instructions; and (7) the trial court abused its discretion in sentencing Couldery.

¶ 5. Finding that the first issue presented on appeal is dispositive of this case, this Court declines to discuss issues two through seven.

I. THE TRAFFIC STOP

¶ 6. The traffic stop was predicated on a traffic violation, namely that Couldery was driving in the left-hand lane of the roadway. There has been dispute on appeal as to which specific statute Couldery violated by driving in the left-hand lane, however *962 at a pre-trial motion to suppress, the trial judge determined that Couldery was stopped for violating Mississippi Code Annotated Section 63-3-601. On appeal, the State submits that Couldery was in violation of Mississippi Code Annotated Section 63-3-603, and additionally argues that Couldery failed to maintain a proper lookout while driving. The State's attempt to play a legal game of pin-the-tail on the charges belies a larger issue in the case, specifically whether it was constitutionally permissible for Trooper Vincent to stop Couldery.

¶ 7. The test for probable cause in Mississippi is the totality of the circumstances. Haddox v. State, 636 So.2d 1229, 1235 (Miss.1994). In Singletary v. State, 318 So.2d 873, 876 (Miss.1975), our supreme court stated that there are generally three ways which an officer may attempt to prevent crime, detect violations, make identifications, or apprehend criminals. The first method is the "voluntary conversation," during which an officer is allowed to have a voluntary communication with an individual regardless of what facts are known to the officer because it involves no force and no detention of the individual interviewed; the second method is the "investigative stop and temporary detention." The supreme court has determined that when an officer stops and temporarily detains an individual it is not an arrest, when reasonable circumstances are present an officer may stop and detain a person to settle an ambiguous situation without having sufficient knowledge to justify an arrest. Finally, an officer may make an arrest only when he/she has probable cause. Id.

¶ 8. This Court, following the Supreme Court, has treated routine traffic stops as more similar to a "Terry stop" than to a formal arrest. Millsap v. State, 767 So.2d 286, 289(¶ 8) (Miss.Ct.App.2000) (citing Ohio v. Robinette, 519 U.S. 33, 117 S.Ct. 417, 136 L.Ed.2d 347 (1996); Berkemer v. McCarty, 468 U.S. 420, 438, 104 S.Ct. 3138, 82 L.Ed.2d 317 (1984); and Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968)).

¶ 9. Under Terry, the legality of a police investigatory stop is tested in two parts. First, this Court must examine if the officer's actions were justified at its inception, and then this Court must inquire whether the officer's subsequent actions were reasonably related in scope to the circumstances that justified the stop. United States v. Brigham, 382 F.3d 500 (5th Cir.2004) (citing Terry, 392 U.S. at 19-20, 88 S.Ct. 1868).

a) Mississippi Code Annotated Sections 63-3-601 and 611

¶ 10.

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Bluebook (online)
890 So. 2d 959, 2004 WL 2860416, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/couldery-v-state-missctapp-2004.