Mary Osborne v. State of Indiana

54 N.E.3d 428, 2016 WL 2756467
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedMay 12, 2016
Docket29A02-1511-CR-1931
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 54 N.E.3d 428 (Mary Osborne v. State of Indiana) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Mary Osborne v. State of Indiana, 54 N.E.3d 428, 2016 WL 2756467 (Ind. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

RILEY, Judge.

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

[1] Appellant-Defendant, Mary Osborne (Osborne), appeals the trial court’s denial of her motion to suppress

[2] We reverse and remand.

ISSUE

[3] Osborne raises one issue on interlocutory appeal, which we restate as follows: Whether the warrantless seizure of Osborne violated the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution or Article 1, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

[4] On December 14, 2014, at approximately 1:00 a.m., Officer Jason Arnold (Officer Arnold) of the Fishers Police Department was assisting two other police officers with an operating while intoxicated investigation on 116th Street in Fishers, Hamilton County, Indiana. (Tr. p. 12). During the course of that investigation, dispatch advised that a clerk working at the Marathon gas station, located “near 116th Street and Brook[s] School Road[,]” had reported that “a female subject ... was stuck underneath her vehicle in the parking lot.” (Tr. p. 13). Officer .Arnold responded to the call and drove to the gas station, which was approximately “a mile to a mile and a half’ away. (Tr. p. 14). En route, dispatch apprised Officer Arnold of the vehicle’s license plate number and that it “was a black passenger ear, possibly a BMW.” (Tr. p. 14).

[5] As Officer Arnold neared the gas station, he received “an update from dispatch that the female had gotten herself out from under the vehicle and was leaving.” (Tr. p. 15). When he arrived at the *431 gas station, he observed a vehicle matching the reported description driving away. Although he did not witness the driver— later identified as Osborne — commit any traffic violations, Officer Arnold initiated a traffic stop. He stated that

[d]ue to the nature of the eall[,] I felt that it was necessary to stop the individual and check on [her] welfare. It’s not very normal activity. It’s not every day I receive this kind of call so I thought it was necessary to check on the welfare and the well[-]being of the individual.

(Tr. p. 16). He added that he “was concerned that [Osborne] potentially could have been seriously injured, broken bones or anything. Or something was wrong with [her] that started this whole thing to begin with because it’s not normal behavior.” (Tr. p. 17).

[6] Officer Arnold approached the driver-side window, and although he did not observe any blood or other apparent injuries, he indicated that' “there could be something wrong with her ... internally. I couldn’t see her feet or legs really from where I was at. She could have had a broken bone down there that I couldn’t see. So I went to inquire from her if she had anything wrong with her that I didn’t know about.” (Tr. p. 22). He asked, “Ma’am, are you okay; are you hurt?” (Tr. p. 21). Osborne informed Officer Arnold that “she was fine” and declined medical treatment. (Tr. p. 23). Nevertheless, Officer Arnold remained “concerned because ... it’s not normal behavior.... I didn’t know if maybe she ha[d] something else going on, what was it that caused this or whatever. And I asked her what happened; what caused her to get trapped underneath her vehicle.” (Tr. p. 23)'. Osborne explained that her vehicle has a manual transmission, and “when she exited the vehicle at the gas station she must have forgotten to put the parking brake on and it rolled back on top of her.” (Tr. p. 23).

[7] Osborne’s explanation convinced Officer Arnold that she was not in need of medical or other assistance. ' However, as he was questioning her, Officer Arnold noticed signs of possible impairment, including the odor of alcohol on her breath, red and watery eyes, and slurred speech. When Officer Arnold asked whether’Osborne had consumed any alcohol, she stat-. ed that she had a beer about one hour earlier. According to the probable cause affidavit, Officer Arnold conducted several field sobriety tests, which Osborne failed. In addition, Officer Arnold administered a portable breathalyzer test, which indicated that Osborne’s alcohol level was 0.12. After being transported to the Hamilton County Jail, Osborne submitted to another breath test, which revealed that .her alcohol level was 0.10. On December 19, 2014, the State filed an Information, charging Osborne with Count I, operating a vehicle while intoxicated in a manner that endangers a person, a Class A misdemeanor, Ind.Code § 9-30-5-2(a)-(b); and Count II, operating a vehicle with an alcohol concentration equivalent to at least 0.08 gram of alcohol per' 210 liters of the person’s breath, a Class C misdemeanor, I.C. § 9-30 — 5—1 (a) (2).

[8] On June 24, 2015, Osborne filed a motion to suppress the evidence obtained during the course of the traffic stop. She argued that the warrantless seizure — i a, the traffic stop — violated both the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article 1, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution. On September 15, 2015, the trial court conducted a hearing, and on October 5, 2015, the trial court issued a Suppression Order, denying Osborne’s motion. The trial court noted that “[o]ne exception [to the warrant requirement] is the noncriminal, noninvestigativé *432 community caretaking function, which is used with caution in order to ensure that it is not used as a pretext for a criminal investigation.” (Appellant's App. p.,29). The trial court concluded that “Officer Arnold stopped [Osborne’s] vehicle as part of his ‘community caretaking’ function”; therefore, the warrantless seizure did not run afoul of either the federal Constitution or the Indiana Constitution. (Appellant’s App. p. 28).

[9] On October 29, 2015, Osborne filed a motion to certify the Suppression Order for interlocutory appeal, which the trial court granted on November 2, 2015. On December 11, 2015, our court accepted jurisdiction over the case. Osborne now appeals. Additional facts will be provided as necessary.

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

I.. Standard, of Review

[10] Our standard for reviewing a trial court’s ruling on a motion to suppress is well settled. Similar to sufficiency matters, we must “determine whether substantial evidence of probative value exists to support the trial court’s ruling.” Litchfield v. State, 824 N.E.2d 356, 358 (Ind.2005). We do not reweigh the evidence, and we consider any conflicting evidence most favorably to the trial court’s ruling. Id. Additionally, “[u]nlike typical sufficiency reviews, ... we will consider ... the uncontested evidence favorable to the defendant.” Gunn v. State, 956 N.E.2d 136, 138 (Ind.Ct.App.2011). We will uphold the trial court’s ruling as long as it is sustainable on any legal theory apparent in the record. Allen v. State, 893 N.E,2d 1092, 1095 (Ind.Ct.App.2008), tram, denied. “When the trial court’s denial of a defendant’s motion to suppress concerns the constitutionality of a search or seizure, ... it presents a question of law, and we address that question de novo.” Robinson v. State, 5 N.E.3d 362, 365 (Ind.2014).

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Bluebook (online)
54 N.E.3d 428, 2016 WL 2756467, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/mary-osborne-v-state-of-indiana-indctapp-2016.