C.S. v. State

735 N.E.2d 273, 2000 Ind. App. LEXIS 1468
Indiana Court of Appeals·Decided September 8, 2000·No. No. 49A05-9912-JV-567·Published·Cited by 25 cases

Opinions

OPINION

BAKER, Judge

C.S., a juvenile, appeals an adjudication finding him to be a delinquent child for possessing a firearm on school property, an act which would be a Class C felony if committed by an adult,1 and the revocation of his probation. Specifically, he maintains that the adjudication must be reversed because the trial court erred in admitting a handgun into evidence that was found on C.S. during a pat down search by a school official. C.S. also maintains that the evidence was insufficient to support the revocation of C.S.’s probation.

FACTS

On July 23, 1999, C.S. was adjudicated a delinquent child and placed on probation until October 21, 1999. As a condition of his probation, C.S. was barred from pos[275] sessing a gun. On August 9, 1999, C.S. was attending summer school when Indianapolis Public Schools (“IPS”) police officer Sergeant Gaines received information about C.S. from another, student. Upon receiving such information, Sergeant Gaines removed C.S. from class and “[g]ave him a pat down search for officer safety.” R. at 88. During the search, Sergeant Gaines discovered a handgun in C.S.’s pants pocket.

As a result of this incident, the State filed a notice of delinquency against C.S. for the offenses of carrying a handgun without a license as a class C felony and possession of a firearm on school property, a class D felony.2 The State also filed a notice of probation violation, alleging that C.S. had violated the terms of his probation by committing the offenses of “possession of a handgun on school property, disorderly conduct, intimidation and carrying a handgun without a license.” R. at 18. At a hearing on both notices, the juvenile court found C.S. to be a delinquent child as charged, although it merged the two offenses for the purposes of disposition. The juvenile court also determined that C.S. had violated his probation and sentenced C.S. to six months incarceration. C.S. now appeals.

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

I. Admission of Handgun

C.S. first contends that the trial court erred in admitting the handgun into evidence that was found in his possession during a pat down search by Sergeant Gaines. Specifically, C.S. contends that the admission of the handgun violated his rights against unreasonable search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and article I, section 11 of the Indiana Constitution.3

To resolve this issue, we initially observe that a trial court possesses, broad discretion in ruling on the admissibility, of evidence, and we will not disturb its decision absent a showing of an abuse of that discretion. D.I.R. v. State, 683 N.E.2d 251, 252 (Ind.Ct.App.1997). A judicially issued search warrant is a condition precedent to a lawful search, but an exception to the warrant requirement permits school officials to search students in a school setting under a less stringent standard. D.B. v. State, 728 N.E.2d 179, 181 (Ind.Ct.App. 2000). The United States Supreme Court recently commented that the' reasonable expectation of Fourth Amendment privacy is diminished in quarters such as airports and schools. Florida v. J.L., 529 U.S. 266, -, 120 S.Ct. 1375,1380,146 L.Ed.2d 254 (2000). The legality of a student search by a school official depends upon the reasonableness of the search under all of the circumstances. See New Jersey v. T.L.O., 469 U.S. 325, 341, 105 S.Ct. 733, 83 L.Ed.2d 720 (1985). Moreover, a school official’s search of a student is not subject to the Fourth Amendment’s warrant and probable cause requirements. Id.

This court has adopted a two-part test established by the United States Supreme Court to determine whether the search is reasonable. See Berry v. State, 561 N.E.2d 832 (Ind.Ct.App.1990). Specifically, the search must first be justified at its inception. D.I.R., 683 N.E.2d at 253. Under ordinary circumstances, a student search will be justified at its inception when there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that the search will turn up evidence that the student is violating or [276] has violated either the law or a school rule. Id. Second, the search must be reasonably-related to the objectives of the search and not excessively intrusive in light of the age and sex of the student and the nature of the infraction. Id.

In the instant case, the evidence presented at the hearing demonstrated that Sergeant Gaines received information from a student about C.S. that caused her to remove C.S. from the classroom ,4 Sergeant Gaines testified that she was concerned for her safety and proceeded to conduct a pat down search for that reason. R. at 88. Inasmuch as Sergeant Gaines testified that she was concerned for her safety, the search of C.S. was justified from its inception. See S.A. v. State, 654 N.E.2d 791, 796 (Ind.Ct.App.1995), trans. denied (search of juvenile’s bag was justified from inception where a student provided information that the defendant may have stolen property); see also Berry, 561 N.E.2d at 837 (search of juvenile’s jacket was justified from inception where teacher reported that juvenile committed a school infraction). While Sergeant Gaines’ actions may not have satisfied the warrant and probable cause requirements in some other environment, the protective search of C.S. just outside the classroom was permissible. See Florida v. J.L., 529 U.S. at -, 120 S.Ct. at 1380.

We also note that the search was reasonably related to the objectives of the search inasmuch as Sergeant Gaines conducted only a minimally intrusive pat down of C.S.’s clothing to determine whether he possessed any contraband. Once the gun was discovered, Sergeant Gaines ceased the search. As a result, we conclude that under all of the circumstances presented here, the search of C.S. was reasonable and the handgun was properly admitted.

II. Determination of Delinquency and Probation Revocation

C.S. next claims that the evidence was insufficient to support the finding that he was a delinquent child. Similarly, he contends that the evidence was not sufficient to support the probation revocation.

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C.S. v. State, 735 N.E.2d 273, 2000 Ind. App. LEXIS 1468 (Ind. Ct. App. 2000).

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