Garza v. State

619 N.W.2d 573, 2000 WL 1779409
CourtCourt of Appeals of Minnesota
DecidedDecember 5, 2000
DocketC8-00-526, CX-00-527
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 619 N.W.2d 573 (Garza v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Garza v. State, 619 N.W.2d 573, 2000 WL 1779409 (Mich. Ct. App. 2000).

Opinion

OPINION

EDWARD D. MULALLY, Judge *

Appellants Xavier Garza, Jr., and Xavier Garza, Sr., challenge their convictions for fourth-degree controlled substance crime, arguing that the no-knock authorization for execution of a search warrant for their house was not supported by any particular facts. We reverse.

FACTS

In February 1998, police setup surveillance of the Garza residence for suspected marijuana trafficking. On February 24, 1998, the police applied for a search warrant. The warrant application contained an affidavit of a police detective. According to the detective’s affidavit, Garza Jr. had been identified as the responsible party for supplying marijuana to an individual recently arrested for possession. The affidavit stated that marijuana is sold and stored at the Garza residence, that Garza Jr. had been found in possession of marijuana when stopped on February 22 for a traffic violation, and that marijuana residue and smoking implements had recently been found in the garbage of the Garza residence. The warrant application requested authorization for unannounced entry (often referred to as a no-knock provision), stating that persons involved in drug trafficking will destroy evidence and use violence if given prior warning.

The district court issued the search warrant containing a no-knock provision and at 12:05 p.m. on February 24, 1998, the police executed the warrant at the Garza residence. They found about $1,400 in cash in the master bedroom and one pound of marijuana in a storage shed. Neither Garza Jr. nor Garza Sr. was present at the time the warrant was executed.

In separate proceedings, the state charged Garza Jr. and Garza Sr. with one count each of fourth-degree controlled substance crime under Minn.Stat. § 152.024, subd. 1(4) (1998). The Garzas filed motions to suppress the evidence obtained from the search of the Garza home. The district court denied the suppression motions and the cases were submitted on stipulated facts in accordance with State v. Lothenbach, 296 N.W.2d 854 (Minn.1980). The trial court found both Garza Jr. and Garza Sr. guilty as charged, imposing sentences consistent with séntencing guidelines. The Garzas filed appeals in July 1999, but withdrew those appeals to pursue postconviction relief. In a February 8, 2000 order, the trial court denied postcon-viction relief. This' court consolidated the subsequent appeals.

ISSUE

Did the warrant application contain particularized reasons to justify advanced authorization of unannounced entry?

*576 ANALYSIS

When the facts are not in dispute and the district court’s decision is a question of law, we may independently review the facts and determine as a matter of law whether evidence should be suppressed. State v. Othoudt, 482 N.W.2d 218, 221 (Minn.1992).

The “commonlaw principle of announcement * * * is an element of the reasonableness inquiry under the Fourth Amendment.” Wilson v. Arkansas, 514 U.S. 927, 934, 115 S.Ct. 1914, 1918, 131 L.Ed.2d 976 (1995) (footnote omitted). The announcement principle, commonly known as the “knock-and-announce” rule, has four components: before crossing the threshold to execute a search warrant officers must (1) knock; (2) identify themselves as law-enforcement officers; (3) announce their authority and purpose (“search warrant”); and (4) wait a reasonable time for occupant to allow or refuse entry. United States v. Beckford, 962 F.Supp. 767, 774 (E.D.Va.1997); see also Wilson, 514 U.S. at 931-36, 115 S.Ct. at 1916-19; State v. Linder, 291 Minn. 217, 219, 190 N.W.2d 91, 93 (1971).

Police seeking a search warrant may obtain from the issuing magistrate specific advanced authorization to use an unannounced entry to execute a warrant. State v. Lien, 265 N.W.2d 833, 838 (Minn. 1978). In order to obtain advanced authorization for unannounced entry, the police “must make a strong showing that an announced entry will result in the destruction of evidence or in danger to the officers executing the warrant.” Id. The police “must do more than simply make a showing that drugs are involved.” Id. The police must have a reasonable suspicion based on particular circumstances that announcement “would be dangerous or futile, or that it would inhibit the effective investigation of the crime by, for example, allowing the destruction of evidence.” Richards v. Wisconsin, 520 U.S. 385, 394, 117 S.Ct. 1416, 1421, 137 L.Ed.2d 615 (1997).

Our supreme court recently examined the announcement principle and advanced authorization for unannounced entry in State v. Wasson, 615 N.W.2d 316 (Minn.2000). The court explained that

[[Important purposes are served by the knock and announce requirement, including preventing the unnecessary destruction of property and mistaken entry into the wrong premises, protecting against unnecessary shock and embarrassment, and decreasing the potential for a violent response.

Id. at 319-20. “[W]e require the police to inform the issuing magistrate of the circumstances that they believe justify the unannounced entry.” Id. at 320. “Given the constitutional dimension to the method of entry into a residence, evidence should be suppressed when the circumstances do not warrant an unannounced entry.” Id. See also State v. Barnes, 618 N.W.2d 805 (Minn.App. 2000).

The Garzas argue that warrant application in this case did not contain any particular circumstances so as to justify a no-knock provision. Admittedly boilerplate language in a search warrant application does not satisfy the particularized showing requirement. Wasson, 615 N.W.2d at 320. In requesting unannounced entry, the warrant application stated no-knock entry was necessary because:

Persons involved in Drug trafficking will destroy evidence if given prior warning. Drug traffickers also will use violence if given prior warning therefore Law Enforcement needs the element of surprise to protect themselves from harm.

As the Garzas point out, this statement is the very kind of general boilerplate request rejected by the United States Supreme Court in Richards v. Wisconsin:

In Richards, the Supreme Court struck down Wisconsin’s blanket rule permitting no-knock search warrants in felony drug cases. 520 U.S. at 385, 117 S.Ct. at 1418. The Court in Richards noted *577

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Bluebook (online)
619 N.W.2d 573, 2000 WL 1779409, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/garza-v-state-minnctapp-2000.