Lockhart v. State

305 S.E.2d 22, 166 Ga. App. 555, 1983 Ga. App. LEXIS 3249
CourtCourt of Appeals of Georgia
DecidedMay 6, 1983
Docket66008
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 305 S.E.2d 22 (Lockhart v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lockhart v. State, 305 S.E.2d 22, 166 Ga. App. 555, 1983 Ga. App. LEXIS 3249 (Ga. Ct. App. 1983).

Opinion

Quillian, Presiding Judge.

The defendant, Carlton Lockhart, appeals his conviction for possession of more than one ounce of marijuana — a violation of the Georgia Controlled Substances Act.

On June 17,1982, Officer Don Woodyard, of the Troup County Sheriffs Department applied for a search warrant to search the premises of the defendant Lockhart. In his affidavit, Woodyard stated that a “reliable informant” who had in the past given him information which led to the arrest and conviction of other persons, told him that on June 14, 1982, he had bought untaxpaid whiskey from Lockhart in his home. While the informant was there “he saw *556 marijuana sold by Carlton Lockhart to other people ...” Woodyard applied for and received a search warrant to search defendant’s house for “untaxed Paid [sic] whiskey.”

The police attempted to gain entrance to the Lockhart residence by asking to purchase whiskey. They were refused entrance by Mrs. Lockhart. Woodyard then divided his vice squad into two groups and he and Lieutenant Hunt knocked on the front door until Mrs. Lockhart answered and they served the search warrant on her. The defendant was in the bedroom. He and Mrs. Lockhart were taken to the living room while the search took place. Lt. Hunt had with him his “narcotics detector dog.” Woodyard informed Mrs. Lockhart “that we was [sic] there to search her premises for un-taxpaid whiskey.” Hunt testified he was “in charge of the narcotics dog... My job is to take the dog in and do a room search of the premises with the narcotics detector dog.” Both the “narcotics dog” and Hunt had received special training in narcotics detection. Lt. Hunt has “also been to a school and [has] a state and federal narcotics license.” He gave the “narcotics dog” the command to “search.” The dog alerted on the commode in the bathroom and 31 bags of marijuana were found in a “ziplock” bag in the water reservoir. Another officer found one small bag of marijuana in the defendant’s bedroom in a chest of drawers. The defendant was advised of his Miranda rights and asked if the marijuana was his. He shook his head. His wife was asked if it was hers. She also denied that it was hers. The officer then told them that both were under arrest. Lockhart then stated that the marijuana belonged to him. The officers did not find any untaxpaid whiskey. Defendant’s motion to suppress was denied and he brings this appeal. Held:

The defendant enumerates as error the use of the dog in the execution of the search warrant. We agree that the use of the dog was not authorized and reverse.

The “reliable informant” advised Officer Woodyard of Lockhart’s sale of untaxpaid whiskey and marijuana, but Woodyard sought a search warrant only to search for “untaxed Paid [sic] whiskey.” He did not ask for permission to search for marijuana, nor was the warrant’s subject authorization broad enough to cover a search for marijuana. The magistrate was neither advised in writing nor orally that the police desired to search for marijuana. Also, the officers testified that they did not ask for or secure permission to use a “narcotics dog.” The officer in control of the dog qualified the dog only as an expert in a search for narcotics and he gave the dog the command to “search” — presumably for the marijuana the informant stated he had seen.

We find fault with the procedure followed by the police for three *557 reasons: (1) Our State and Federal Constitutions require that a search warrant shall “particularly describ[e] the . . . things to be seized,” (Art. I, § I, Par. 10, Ga. Const. (1976) (Code Ann. § 2-110); Fourth Amendment, U. S. Const.), (2) A search in execution of a warrant may not exceed in scope the particular article or things to be seized (Terry v. Ohio, 392 U. S. 1 (88 SC 1868, 20 LE2d 889)), and (3) for the “plain view” exception to the warrant requirement to be invoked, the sighting of the contraband not specified in the warrant must have been “inadvertent.” Coolidge v. New Hampshire, 403 U. S. 443, 469 (91 SC 2022, 29 LE2d 564).

(1) “The requirement that warrants shall particularly describe the things to be seized makes general searches under them impossible and prevents the seizure of one thing under a warrant describing another. As to what may be taken, nothing is left to the discretion of the officer executing the warrant.” Marron v. United States, 275 U. S. 192, 196 (48 SC 74, 72 LE 231). “In short, what this history indispensably teaches is that the constitutional requirement that warrants must particularly describe the ‘things to be seized’ is to be accorded the most scrupulous exactitude ...” Stanford v. Texas, 379 U. S. 476, 485 (85 SC 506, 13 LE2d 431). Thus, although the affiant may have stated sufficient probable cause for issuance of a search warrant for untaxpaid whiskey and marijuana, the officer asked for and was issued a warrant which authorized a search only for “untaxed Paid [sic] whiskey.” There was no judicial authorization for a search for marijuana. General exploratory warrants are of course void. Andresen v. Maryland, 427 U. S. 463, 480 (96 SC 2737, 49 LE2d 627). And, by definition, a general warrant is one which does not sufficiently specify the person, place, or thing to be searched. Willis v. State, 122 Ga. App. 455, 457 (177 SE2d 487); Andresen v. Maryland, 427 U. S. 463, 480, supra. In the instant case the officers searched specifically for marijuana with a “narcotics dog” and marijuana was not specified in the search warrant as an authorized subject of the search.

(2) “[A] search which is reasonable at its inception may violate the Fourth Amendment by virtue of its intolerable intensity and scope... The scope of the search must be ‘strictly tied to and justified by’ the circumstances which rendered its initiation permissible . . . [E]vidence may not be introduced if it was discovered by means of a seizure and search which were not reasonably related in scope to the justification for their initiation.” Terry v. Ohio, 392 U. S. 1, 18, 19, 29 (88 SC 1868, 20 LE2d 889). The scope of the authorized search in the instant case was for untaxpaid whiskey. The actual scope of the search in the execution of the warrant was for untaxpaid whiskey and marijuana. There was no other purpose for the “narcotics dog” than *558 to search for marijuana — and, the officer directed the dog “to search” which resulted in the discovery and seizure of the marijuana.

A lawful search is limited to that which is described in the warrant. Jones v. State, 126 Ga. App. 841, 844 (192 SE2d 171). A search warrant may not lie used as a means to gain access to a person’s house for the purpose of securing other evidence against him. Gouled v. United States, 255 U. S. 298

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State v. Jesus De La Paz
Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2024
Smithson v. State
621 S.E.2d 783 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2005)
McBee v. State
491 S.E.2d 97 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1997)
Grant v. State
469 S.E.2d 826 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1996)
Brown v. State
371 S.E.2d 257 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1988)
Military Circle Pet Center No. 94, Inc. v. State
353 S.E.2d 555 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1987)
Hunt v. State
348 S.E.2d 467 (Court of Appeals of Georgia, 1986)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
305 S.E.2d 22, 166 Ga. App. 555, 1983 Ga. App. LEXIS 3249, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lockhart-v-state-gactapp-1983.