Fenton v. State

2007 WY 51, 154 P.3d 974, 2007 WL 866204
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 23, 2007
Docket05-224
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 2007 WY 51 (Fenton v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fenton v. State, 2007 WY 51, 154 P.3d 974, 2007 WL 866204 (Wyo. 2007).

Opinion

154 P.3d 974 (2007)
2007 WY 51

Jeremy FENTON, Appellant (Defendant),
v.
The STATE of Wyoming, Appellee (Plaintiff).

No. 05-224.

Supreme Court of Wyoming.

March 23, 2007.

*975 Representing Appellant: Kenneth M. Koski, State Public Defender; and Donna D. Domonkos, Appellate Counsel. Argument by Ms. Domonkos.

Representing Appellee: Patrick J. Crank, Wyoming Attorney General; Paul S. Rehurek, Deputy Attorney General; D. Michael Pauling, Senior Assistant Attorney General; Eric A. Johnson, Director, Prosecution Assistance Program; and Geoffrey L. Gunnerson, Student Director, Prosecution Assistance Program. Argument by Mr. Gunnerson.

Before VOIGT, C.J., and GOLDEN, HILL, KITE, and BURKE, JJ.

HILL, Justice.

[¶ 1] Appellant, Jeremy Fenton (Fenton), entered a conditional plea of guilty to possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver. The "condition" preserved Fenton's right to appeal the district court's decision to deny his motion to suppress the evidence which supported the charge to which he pled guilty. Fenton asserts that the disputed evidence was obtained during an extensive search of his home, without the benefit of a search warrant issued by a judicial officer. Thus, he contends that the search was unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, as well as Wyo. Const. art. 1, § 4. Fenton then concludes that the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence found during the unreasonable search, as well as the evidence gathered thereafter (fruit of the search), including incriminating statements he made at the time of his arrest. We will reverse and remand with instructions that the district court enter an order granting Fenton's motion to suppress.

BURDEN OF PROOF BELOW

[¶ 2] That the State bears the burden of proof with respect to justifying warrantless searches and seizures of a dwelling house is a well-established rule:

The United States Constitution and the Wyoming Constitution prohibit "unreasonable searches and seizures." U.S. Const. amend. IV; Wyo. Const. art. 1, § 4. We have stated that under both constitutions, warrantless searches and seizures are per se unreasonable unless they are justified by probable cause and established exceptions. Morris v. State, 908 P.2d 931, 935 (Wyo.1995). In addition to the consent exception to the warrant requirement, these specific exigent circumstances exceptions include:
—search of an arrested suspect and the area within his control;
—search conducted while in pursuit of a fleeing suspect;
—search and/or seizure to prevent the imminent destruction of evidence;
—search and/or seizure of an automobile upon probable cause;
—search which results when an object is inadvertently in the plain view of police officers while they are where they have a right to be; and
—search which results from an entry into a dwelling in order to prevent loss of life or property.
Hughes[v. State, 2003 WY 35, 65 P.3d 378 (Wyo. 2003)], ¶ 11 (citing Andrews v. State, 2002 WY 28, ¶ 18, 40 P.3d 708, ¶ 18 (Wyo. 2002)). The existence of exigent circumstances is dependent upon all of the facts or circumstances viewed in their entirety. Hughes, ¶ 13. When a proper objection or motion is made by a defendant, the State bears the burden of proving that one of *976 these exceptions applies. Mickelson v. State, 906 P.2d 1020, 1022 (Wyo.1995); Dickeson v. State, 843 P.2d 606, 610 (Wyo. 1992).

Peña v. State, 2004 WY 115, ¶ 29, 98 P.3d 857, 870 (Wyo. 2004) (the affirmance in the Peña case relied on the "emergency assistance exception," as well as an exception that is designed to prevent loss of life or property); also see Guerra v. State, 897 P.2d 447, 452 (Wyo.1995).

[¶ 3] In this instance, the district court conducted a hearing and took evidence concerning the search and seizure at issue: "In reviewing a trial court's ruling on a motion to suppress evidence, we do not interfere with the trial court's findings of fact unless the findings are clearly erroneous. . . . We view the evidence in the light most favorable to the trial court's determination because the trial court has an opportunity at the evidentiary hearing to assess `the credibility of the witnesses, weigh the evidence, and make the necessary inferences, deductions, and conclusions.'" Peña ¶ 25, 98 P.3d at 869.

[¶ 4] We add the following because we wish to make clear that the issue presented in a case such as this is one of the most important known to Anglo-American jurisprudence:

The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution protects citizens against unreasonable searches and seizures. It provides:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
"It is axiomatic that the `physical entry of the home is the chief evil against which the wording of the Fourth Amendment is directed.'" State v. Straub, 749 N.E.2d 593, 597 (Ind.Ct.App.2001) (quoting United States v. United States District Court, 407 U.S. 297, 313, 92 S.Ct. 2125, 32 L.Ed.2d 752 (1972)). "[A] home is entitled to special dignity and special sanctity and . . . the proper way to search a home is to obtain a search warrant." Brown v. State, 738 P.2d 1092, 1094 (Wyo.1987). Thus, searches and seizures inside a home without a warrant are presumptively unreasonable, but there are a few "well-delineated exceptions to the warrant requirement." Vassar v. State, 2004 WY 125, ¶ 19, 99 P.3d 987, 995 (Wyo.2004). Consent and the existence of exigent circumstances are two of the exceptions to the warrant requirement." Pena v. State, 2004 WY 115, ¶ 29, 98 P.3d 857, 870 (Wyo.2004); Meadows v. State, 2003 WY 37, ¶ 24, 65 P.3d 33, 40 (Wyo. 2003).

Gompf v. State, 2005 WY 112, ¶ 17, 120 P.3d 980, 985 (Wyo.2005); Rideout v. State, 2005 WY 141, ¶ 16, 122 P.3d 201, 205 (Wyo.2005). Both the Gompf case and the Rideout case are instructive here, because in those cases, once the police felt they had probable cause to search, they secured the premises to be searched and sought judicially supervised search warrants (or as in Rideout written consent of the home owner).

STANDARD OF REVIEW

[¶ 5] The constitutionality of a particular search or seizure is a question of law that we review de novo. Peña ¶ 25, 98 P.3d at 869.

FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2007 WY 51, 154 P.3d 974, 2007 WL 866204, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fenton-v-state-wyo-2007.