Henley v. State

234 S.W.3d 316, 95 Ark. App. 108
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arkansas
DecidedApril 19, 2006
DocketCA CR 05-1152
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 234 S.W.3d 316 (Henley v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Henley v. State, 234 S.W.3d 316, 95 Ark. App. 108 (Ark. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

Larry D. Vaught, Judge.

Marc Jess Henley appeals 1 his convictions following a conditional guilty plea for attempt to manufacture methamphetamine, possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to manufacture, and maintaining a drug premises. On appeal he argues that the trial court erred in its denial of his motion to suppress because the evidence supporting his convictions was discovered after a warrantless search of his home. We agree that the evidence was obtained following an illegal search of Henley’s home and should have been suppressed. Accordingly, we reverse and remand.

On the evening of July 21, 2004, Officer Andy Shock of the Faulkner County Sheriff s Office received a call from Investigator Wesley Potts of the Van Burén County Sheriff s Office wanting to talk to Marc Henley about a burglary that occurred in Van Burén County. Potts did not have a warrant, but Shock checked his warrant log and discovered that Henley had a misdemeanor warrant for a failure to appear on a speeding ticket.

Later that night, around 10:00 p.m., Potts and Shock — along with another Van Burén County officer — met at the Eight Mile Store (a convenience store located about a mile from Henley’s home). From there, they drove in two separate vehicles to Henley’s home, arriving at 10:18 p.m. The officers parked their vehicles in Henley’s driveway, behind several other vehicles. After the officers exited their car, armed with flashlights, they looked into the other cars parked in the drive. Shock and Potts then proceeded to the front door of Henley’s home. As they approached the door the officers looked into Henley’s home through a bay window (although the window had a blind covering it, a section of the blind was damaged allowing officers to see inside the home). The officers observed Henley and a female (later identified as Natalie Bailey) inside the home standing around a pool table.

Once Shock and Potts arrived at the front door, they began knocking and shouting for Henley to come to the door. As Potts continued knocking on the door, Shock went back to look through the bay window, where he observed Henley and Bailey under the pool table. Meanwhile, the third officer walked around to the back of the residence.

Eventually Henley opened the front door and was placed under arrest on the misdemeanor warrant and was handcuffed. He was then questioned by Potts about the burglary until Potts was satisfied that Henley was not involved in any Van Burén County burglary. However, when Henley opened the door to exit his home, Shock smelled an overwhelming chemical odor that he associated with the processing of methamphetamine. While Henley was being questioned, Bailey also came outside, where she was subjected to a pat-down search. The search revealed a quantity of an illegal substance (later identified as methamphetamine). She responded to the discovery of the secreted black-zippered bag containing methamphetamine by stating “You can’t tell Marc I gave it to you. He told me to put it in there. He would kill me if I told you that.” At this point the officers asked Henley if he would consent to a search of his home. He refused their request. However, as Henley was being placed in the squad car, he mentioned that he was on probation. Shock then called Kelly Brock, a Faulkner County Probation Officer, who, suspecting narcotic activity, called Detective Todd Mize, a narcotics officer. Once Brock and Mize arrived, Henley and Bailey were taken back into the home. As Henley and Bailey were being watched, officers — primarily Mize — conducted a search of the home. The search revealed the components of a methamphetamine laboratory. Following this discovery, Henley was arrested and eventually convicted of the numerous offenses that are the subject of this appeal.

On appeal, Henley argues that the illegal drugs and prohibited laboratory items discovered in his home should be suppressed because they were discovered as a result of a warrantless search. The State responds that according to one of the conditions of Henley’s probation — which required that he allow a supervising probation officer to visit with him — the entry did not require a warrant. The State alternatively argues that the search was justified because it was a result of his arrest on an outstanding warrant.

In reviewing the trial court’s denial of a motion to suppress evidence, we conduct a de novo review based on the totality of the circumstances, reviewing findings of historical fact for clear error and determining whether those facts give rise to reasonable suspicion or probable cause, giving due weight to inferences drawn by the trial court and proper deference to the trial court’s findings. See Romes v. State, 356 Ark. 26, 144 S.W.3d 750 (2004). As an initial matter, we note that all warrantless searches are unreasonable unless shown to be within one of the exceptions to the rule that a search must rest upon a valid warrant. Bratton v. State, 77 Ark. App. 174, 72 S.W.3d 522 (2002). The burden of proof is on the State to justify the search. Mays v. State, 76 Ark. App. 169, 61 S.W.3d 919 (2001). A warrantless entry into a private home is presumptively unreasonable. Welsh v. Wisconsin, 466 U.S. 740 (1984); Norris v. State, 338 Ark. 397, 993 S.W.2d 918 (1999). The burden is on the State to prove that the warrantless activity was reasonable. Wofford v. State, 330 Ark. 8, 952 S.W.2d 646 (1997). With few exceptions, the question of whether a warrantless search of a home is reasonable and hence constitutional must be answered, “no.” Kyllo v. United States, 533 U.S. 27 (2001). On appeal, we make an independent determination based on the totality of the circumstances to ascertain whether the State has met its burden. Norris, supra.

There is no question that Henley’s home was searched without a warrant, and the State does not contend or attempt to prove that there were exigent circumstances justifying a warrant-less search or that the evidence discovered in the search of Henley’s home would have inevitably been discovered through lawful investigatory work. Instead, the State argues that the search was valid because it falls within the “probation exception” to the warrant requirement. At the outset, we note that there is no such exception. Instead, it is common that as a condition to probation or parole a party will consent-in-advance to allow officers to search his person, automobile, or other property in his control. In Cherry v. State our supreme court considered the constitutionality of a typical consent-in-advance agreement that stated:

Any parolee’s person, automobile, residence, or any property under his control may be searched by a parole officer without a warrant if the officer has reasonable grounds for investigating whether the parolee has violated the terms of his parole or committed a crime.

302 Ark. 462, 464, 791 S.W.2d 354, 356 (1990).

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234 S.W.3d 316, 95 Ark. App. 108, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/henley-v-state-arkctapp-2006.