Drane v. State

493 So. 2d 294
CourtMississippi Supreme Court
DecidedSeptember 17, 1986
Docket55964
StatusPublished
Cited by38 cases

This text of 493 So. 2d 294 (Drane v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Mississippi Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Drane v. State, 493 So. 2d 294 (Mich. 1986).

Opinion

493 So.2d 294 (1986)

Robert Hall DRANE
v.
STATE of Mississippi.

No. 55964.

Supreme Court of Mississippi.

March 5, 1986.
As Modified on Denial of Rehearing September 17, 1986.

*295 Jack Nixon, Natchez, for appellant.

Edwin Lloyd Pittman, Atty. Gen. by Pat Flynn, Sp. Asst. Atty. Gen., Jackson, for appellee.

Before PATTERSON, C.J., and SULLIVAN and ANDERSON, JJ.

ANDERSON, Justice, for the Court:

Robert Hall Drane was convicted in the County Court of Adams County for possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute and was sentenced to five years' imprisonment. We reverse his conviction on that charge, but because of the evidence at trial would have supported a conviction for the lesser included offense of simple possession, we remand for resentencing.

On January 6, 1982, Robert Drane and his companion, Mary Boudreaux, were riding in a pickup truck along a gravel road in rural Adams County. This road traverses a section of the Homochitto National Forest containing the Sandy Creek Wildlife Management Area. Two wildlife conservation officers, James Cummins and David Southerland, had set up a roadblock on this thoroughfare to conduct a routine game check. When the officers saw Drane's truck approaching, they signalled for it to stop. They were asking Drane for his hunting license or other identification when one of them believed he detected the odor of marijuana. The truck was searched, and the wardens discovered a plastic bag filled with a substance the wardens identified as marijuana. They then informed Drane and his companion that they were under arrest. A scuffle ensued, but the two suspects were finally subdued.

After other law enforcement officials arrived on the scene, the wardens learned that several members of the Drane family lived at nearby Deerfield Plantation, and that his companion Mary Boudreaux had a history of drug abuse. Believing that Drane might have secreted additional drugs at the plantation, the wardens obtained a warrant for the search of the "White House", the principal residence there. A search of this house uncovered additional marijuana, as well as a quantity of brownies into which marijuana had been baked.

Drane and Boudreaux were indicted for possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. Their trials were severed, and Drane's case came before the County Court of Adams County. Defense counsel moved that the evidence obtained from the truck and the house be suppressed as the fruit of an unreasonable search and seizure. After a hearing, the court denied this motion. Trial was held, and a jury found Drane guilty as charged. The judge then sentenced him to five years' imprisonment, whereupon he perfected this appeal.

Of the many assignments of error, only a few have sufficient merit to warrant detailed discussion here.

*296 LAW

I. DID THE GAME INSPECTION VIOLATE THE FOURTH AMENDMENT?

The initial stop of Robert Drane's vehicle occurred under the authority of a regulation governing the supervision of wildlife management areas. This regulation was promulgated by the Commission on Wildlife Conservation pursuant to Mississippi Code Annotated, Section 49-1-29 (Supp. 1985), which authorizes the commission to "make such rules and regulations ... as it may deem necessary to carry out the provisions and purposes of this chapter." The regulation itself states: "Any vehicle may be searched for illegal game or firearms while within, entering or leaving a management area."

Drane contends that the stop and search of his vehicle, and by implication any statute or regulation authorizing it, were unconstitutional in that they violated the Fourth Amendment prohibitions against "unreasonable searches and seizures." Fourth Amendment considerations do, indeed, apply in these situations, since the stop of a vehicle is a "seizure" for Fourth Amendment purposes. United States v. Brignoni-Ponce, 422 U.S. 873, 878, 95 S.Ct. 2574, 2578, 45 L.Ed.2d 607, 614 (1975).

Whether the seizure of a vehicle in an inspection stop is reasonable under the Fourth Amendment is determined by balancing its intrusion on the individual's interest in privacy against its promotion of legitimate government interests. Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648, 653-54, 99 S.Ct. 1391, 1395, 59 L.Ed.2d 660, 667 (1979). In assessing the weight of the intrusion the court may consider such factors as the physical inconvenience and anxiety caused in the motorist. Prouse, 440 U.S. at 657, 99 S.Ct. at 1398, 59 L.Ed.2d at 670. One practical result of this analysis is that stops at fixed, identifiable road blocks have been held less intrusive for Fourth Amendment purposes than stops by roving police units. Thus, a border patrol road block at a fixed point was deemed permissible in part because any motorist passing it would normally expect to be stopped. U.S. v. Martinez-Fuerte, 428 U.S. 543, 558, 96 S.Ct. 3074, 3083, 49 L.Ed.2d 1116, 1128-29 (1976). On the other hand a roving border patrol unit could stop a particular car, only if facts could be articulated to support suspicion of a violation. U.S. v. Brignoni-Ponce, 422 U.S. 873, 882-83, 95 S.Ct. 2574, 2580-81, 45 L.Ed.2d 607, 617 (1975). In Prouse, the court held that random stops of motorists to check drivers' licenses, whether by roving units or a fixed location, were constitutionally impermissible. Prouse, 440 U.S. at 663, 99 S.Ct. at 1401, 59 L.Ed.2d at 673. The current federal doctrine, then, seems to be that stops without probable cause are permissible, so long as they are not made at random and are not subject to the uncontrolled discretion of the officers.

Drane argues that the spot check in the present case does not pass constitutional muster. First, he contends that the stop involved what Prouse called an "unsettling show of authority." 440 U.S. at 667, 99 S.Ct. at 1398, 59 L.Ed.2d at 670. Second, he contends that in the absence of any departmental guidelines for the roadblocks, they partake of "standardless and unconstrained discretion" which the Supreme Court has regarded as a major evil in searches and seizures by police. Prouse, 440 U.S. at 661, 99 S.Ct. at 1400, 59 L.Ed.2d at 672.

The implications of the Fourth Amendment for game checks have figured in two recent state cases. In State v. Halverson, 277 N.W.2d 723 (S.D. 1979), the South Dakota Court rejected the Fourth Amendment challenge without any real discussion. But in State v. Tourtillott, 289 Or. 845, 618 P.2d 423 (1980), cert. denied 451 U.S. 972, 101 S.Ct. 2051, 68 L.Ed.2d 352 (1981), these issues were treated at length. Tourtillott involved a roadblock similar to that in the present case; all passing motorists were stopped to check for hunting licenses. When the defendant was stopped, it was discovered that she had a suspended drivers' license. She raised constitutional *297 questions substantially the same as Drane's in the present case.

The Oregon court rejected the constitutional challenge. After noting the obvious fact that the state had a legitimate interest in the conservation of game, the court performed the balancing test prescribed by the border patrol cases and

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