Jones v. State

800 So. 2d 351, 2001 Fla. App. LEXIS 16651, 2001 WL 1503092
Procedural entryThis page is a short order in Jones v. State. Read the opinion of the Court — 728 So. 2d 788
District Court of Appeal of Florida·Decided November 28, 2001·No. No. 4D00-4040·Published

Opinion

STEVENSON, J.

Earnest Jones was driving his truck when he was stopped by City of West Palm Beach traffic officers during a “vehicle safety inspection.” During the stop, a participating narcotics officer noticed marijuana seeds in the rear of the truck. Jones was convicted of possession of cocaine and marijuana. On appeal, he challenges the trial court’s denial of his motion to suppress the contraband. Since the written guidelines for the roadblock were inadequate, we reverse.

On January 11, 2000, the City of West Palm Beach Police Department was conducting a road block for vehicle safety inspections when Jones was stopped by Officer Ferrera. Jones was unable to produce an automobile insurance card or a state registration form for his vehicle. Ferrera then directed Jones to a nearby area where another traffic officer issued Jones citations for no proof of insurance and no proof of registration. While those citations were being written, Agent Kap-per, a member of the narcotics unit, approached Jones’ vehicle and presented what Kapper described as his “spiel”:

[353]*353I introduce myself as Officer Kapper, West Palm Beach. Do you believe in the war on drugs? Wait for an answer on that. Do you do drugs? Wait for an answer on that. At that time I ask them if there are any drugs in the vehicle, he said no to that. At that time I ask if he would mind if we look into his vehicle. He stated, “do I have to?” I said no you don’t, this is voluntarily. At that time he said no he didn’t want us looking in the vehicle.

While Agent Kapper was speaking to Jones, Emmons, another narcotics agent, looked in the vehicle and noticed, in plain view, numerous marijuana seeds laying on the carpet floor in the extended cab area of the vehicle. Consequently, Emmons conducted a search of the vehicle and discovered the marijuana and cocaine. When Jones was arrested, additional drugs were found on his person.

Jones made a motion to suppress the evidence seized, contending that the operational guidelines issued by the West Palm Beach Police Department for the January 11 roadblock were inadequate. At the hearing on the motion to suppress, Officer Ferrera testified that prior to the road block beginning, all of the participating officers were called into a room and briefed about the procedures. The roadblock was to be used primarily for the purpose of conducting vehicle safety inspections. Ferrera was the contact officer, so he was the one that initially stopped each vehicle. Every vehicle going through the inspection area was to be stopped. Ferrera would look for any type of equipment violation, such as a cracked windshield, or whether the driver had a driver’s license or the automobile’s registration papers. If a violation was detected at this initial stop, Ferrera was to direct the driver to an area where one of the stationed traffic officers would write a citation.

Agent Kapper testified that he also participated in the pre-inspection briefing, where he was advised of what his role and duties would be at the stop. Kapper’s role was to look for any possible narcotics violations in any vehicle. Agent Kapper and other narcotics officers present at the roadblock were to approach vehicles previously diverted to the detention area due to a safety violation. Kapper testified that he had a “certain spiel” when he approached the driver, similar to the one used in questioning Jones. There were, however, no written guidelines telling him how to question the drivers or how to approach the vehicles. Because of the limited number of officers available, not all drivers stopped for a safety violation were questioned about narcotics. Agent Em-mons also testified that he participated in the safety inspection stop held on January 11, 2000, and attended the briefing prior to the stop.

A policy and procedure pamphlet issued by the West Palm Beach Police Department as part of their training manual was introduced into evidence. Officer Ferrera testified that it was passed around and talked about at their briefing. In addition, an operational guidelines and duty sheet was prepared for the January 11 inspection date, and was passed around and discussed at the briefing. The operational guidelines read:

1) NO SAMPLING, ALL CARS TO BE STOPPED.
2) WHEN TRAFFIC DICTATES, CEASE OPERATION.
A. NOTE TIME OF STOP AND RESTART.
3) SPIKES TO BE DEPLOYED ONLY UPON SUPERVISORS DIRECTION.
4) ALL CONTACT, COUNTER, COVER AND TRAFFIC DIRECTION [354]*354OFFICERS TO WEAR TRAFFIC VEST. ■
5) ALL TRAFFIC IMPOUNDS TO BE TOWED BY KAUFFS.
6) CAT TEAM TO HANDLE ALL CITY IMPOUNDS.
7) ALL REPORTS AND CITATIONS TO BE GIVEN TO SGT. BERNHARDT AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE INSPECTION.

At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial judge issued an order denying the motion to suppress. The order stated in part:

The Court finds that pursuant to Campbell v. State, 679 So.2d 1168 (Fla.1996) and State v. Jones, 483 So.2d 433 (Fla.1986), the State has met the dictates of these cases and that the West Palm Beach Police Department had written procedures in place as well as operational guidelines and safety inspection assignments for the various officers for January 11, 2000.... Accordingly, based on the testimony of the officers and the case law cited which is part of the record, it is
ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that defendant’s Motion To Suppress is denied.

Review of a motion to suppress in Florida is a mixed question of law and fact. See Perez v. State, 620 So.2d 1256 (Fla.1993). The standard of review on appeal for the trial judge’s application of the law to the factual findings is de novo. See Ornelas v. United States, 517 U.S. 690, 116 S.Ct. 1657, 134 L.Ed.2d 911 (1996); Harris v. State, 761 So.2d 1186 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000). Utilizing the appropriate standard of review, we conclude that the written guidelines for the January 11 roadblock failed to meet the legal requirements of Campbell v. State, 679 So.2d 1168 (Fla.1996), and State v. Jones, 483 So.2d 433 (Fla.1986). Therefore, Jones’ motion to suppress should have been granted.

Campbell and Jones require a comprehensive, written set of guidelines be in place prior to a roadblock “to ensure that the police do not act with unbridled discretion in exercising the power to stop and restrain citizens who have manifested no conduct that would otherwise justify an intrusion on a citizen’s liberty.” Campbell, 679 So.2d at 1172.

Written guidelines should cover in detail the procedures which field officers are to follow at the roadblock. Ideally, these guidelines should set out with reasonable specificity procedures regarding the selection of vehicles, detention techniques, duty assignments, and the disposition of vehicles. Of course, if the guidelines fail to cover each of these matters they need not necessarily fail. Rather, courts should view each set of guidelines as a whole when determining the plan’s sufficiency.

Jones, 483 So.2d at 438 (citations omitted).

The written guidelines here fall far short of those recently found sufficient in Rinaldo v. State,

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Jones v. State, 800 So. 2d 351, 2001 Fla. App. LEXIS 16651, 2001 WL 1503092 (Fla. Ct. App. 2001).

800 So. 2d 351 (Jones v. State) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Ornelas v. United States
517 U.S. 690 (Supreme Court, 1996)
State v. Jones
483 So. 2d 433 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1986)
Campbell v. State
679 So. 2d 1168 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1996)
Hartsfield v. State
629 So. 2d 1020 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1993)
Harris v. State
761 So. 2d 1186 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2000)
Rinaldo v. State
787 So. 2d 208 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2001)