Morgan v. State

2004 WY 95, 95 P.3d 802, 2004 WL 1801886
CourtWyoming Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 13, 2004
Docket02-263
StatusPublished
Cited by31 cases

This text of 2004 WY 95 (Morgan v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wyoming Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Morgan v. State, 2004 WY 95, 95 P.3d 802, 2004 WL 1801886 (Wyo. 2004).

Opinion

GOLDEN, Justice.

[¶ 1] Appellant James Allen Morgan entered a conditional plea of guilty to two counts of possession of marijuana. He reserved his right to appeal the district court’s denial of his motion to suppress the evidence seized during, and as the result of, the search of his disabled vehicle. Specifically, *804 Morgan complains that a drug dog sniff of the exterior of the vehicle was an illegal search under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article 1, Section 4 of the Wyoming Constitution. He also claims the State failed to establish the reliability of the canine. This Court concludes that the canine sniff was not a search under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and that Morgan did not present a sufficient state constitutional analysis. We further hold that Morgan did not properly preserve his right to contest the State’s failure to establish the reliability of the drug dog. Consequently, we affirm.

ISSUES

[¶ 2] Morgan articulates two issues on appeal:

I. Whether the district court erred in denying appellant’s motion for suppression of all evidence discovered by and because of the drug dog’s initial sniff of appellant’s broken down vehicle?
II. Whether the State failed to establish that the drug dog use[d] by Patrolman Peech was reliable?

Appellee State of Wyoming phrases the issues a little differently:

I. Did the district court properly deny appellant’s motion to suppress evidence?
II. Was the State required to establish that the drug dog was reliable, and was such claim preserved by appellant’s conditional guilty plea?

FACTS

[¶ 3] On November 18, 2001, Morgan and Daniel Fisher were traveling northbound on Interstate 25 in Laramie County. Their vehicle experienced mechanical difficulties, and they pulled to the side of the road. Highway Patrolman Benjamin Peech proceeded to the scene after receiving a call concerning the disabled vehicle. Morgan and Fisher identified themselves to the patrolman and asked him to take them to a nearby truck stop.

[¶4] Patrolman Peech thought he recalled Morgan’s name from a prior drug intelligence report. Consequently, after he left the men at the truck stop, he asked dispatch to run criminal history checks on them. The criminal history checks revealed that Morgan had a prior drug conviction. Patrolman Peech requested that a canine unit from the Laramie County Sheriffs Department meet him at the disabled vehicle. Deputy Sheriff Rivers commanded his drug dog to sniff around the exterior of the vehicle, and the drug dog alerted.

[¶ 5] Patrolman Peech returned to the truck stop to visit with Morgan and Fisher, while Deputy River and the dog remained with the vehicle. A third officer, Deputy Camery, joined Patrolman Peech at the truck stop. The officers located Morgan and Fisher in the coffee shop, and Patrolman Peech asked Morgan to accompany him outside. The patrolman informed Morgan that he thought he recalled his name from a drug intelligence report and that the drug dog had alerted to the vehicle. Morgan denied that there were any controlled substances in the vehicle. Patrolman Peech then spoke with Fisher. Fisher admitted that there was a small amount of marijuana and a marijuana pipe in the vehicle. He also consented to a search of his person, during which Patrolman Peech discovered a small amount of methamphetamine in his wallet.

[¶ 6] Morgan and Fisher agreed to accompany the officers back to the disabled vehicle. Morgan rode with Deputy Camery, and Fisher rode with Patrolman Peech. During the trip, Fisher again admitted that there were drug paraphernalia and small amounts of controlled substances in the vehicle. When they arrived at the vehicle, Patrolman Peech asked Morgan for the keys, and he complied. Patrolman Peech unlocked the doors, and Deputy Rivers directed the dog to enter the vehicle. The dog alerted to a red and black duffle bag which belonged to Morgan. The patrolman searched the bag and discovered a plastic bag containing eight ounces of marijuana.

[¶ 7] The State charged Morgan with one count of possession of marijuana with intent to deliver, in violation of Wyo. Stat. Ann. § 35 — 7—1031 (a)(ii), and one count of possession of more than three ounces of marijuana, in violation of § 35 — 7—1031(c) (iii). Morgan *805 filed a motion to suppress the evidence gathered during the search of his person, the vehicle, and his luggage. He argued that the canine sniff of the exterior of his vehicle amounted to a search, which was not justified by probable cause or a reasonable articulable suspicion of criminal -conduct. The district court held a hearing and denied Morgan’s motion to suppress.

[¶ 8] Morgan and the State entered into a plea agreement in which Morgan conditionally pled guilty to the felony charge of possession of more than three ounces of marijuana and a misdemeanor charge of possession of marijuana. Morgan reserved' his right to appeal the district court’s denial of his motion to suppress. The district court sentenced Morgan to serve a suspended sentence of three to five years in prison for the felony and sixty days in county jail for the misdemeanor. Morgan filed a timely notice of appeal.

DISCUSSION

A. Standard of Review

[¶ 9] Our standard for reviewing a district court’s decision on a motion to suppress has been stated as follows:

Findings on factual issues made by the district court considering a motion to suppress are not disturbed on appeal unless they are clearly erroneous. Wilson v. State, 874 P.2d 215, 218 (Wyo.1994). Since the district court conducts the hearing on the motion to suppress and has the opportunity to asséss the credibility of the witnesses, weigh the evidence, and make the necessary inferences, deductions, and conclusions, evidence is viewed in the light most favorable to the district court’s determination. Id. The issue of law, whether an unreasonable search or seizure has occurred in violation of constitutional rights, is reviewed de novo. Id.; Brown v. State, 944 P.2d 1168, 1170-71 (Wyo.1997).

McChesney v. State, 988 P.2d 1071, 1074 (Wyo.1999); see also Damato v. State, 2003 WY 13, ¶ 7, 64 P.3d 700, ¶7 (Wyo.2003); Meadows v. State, 2003 WY 37, ¶ 14, 65 P.3d 33, ¶ 14 (Wyo.2003).

B. Dog Sniff

[¶ 10] Morgan argues that the canine’s sniff of the exterior of his vehicle amounted to a search under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. He claims, therefore, that the officer should have had probable cause or, at- least, a reasonable articulable suspicion of criminal conduct before he ordered the canine sniff. The State maintains that the canine sniff was not a search entitled to Fourth Amendment protection.

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Bluebook (online)
2004 WY 95, 95 P.3d 802, 2004 WL 1801886, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/morgan-v-state-wyo-2004.