People v. Cooper

2016 CO 73, 383 P.3d 1170, 2016 WL 6868243
CourtSupreme Court of Colorado
DecidedNovember 21, 2016
DocketSupreme Court Case 16SA231
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 2016 CO 73 (People v. Cooper) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Cooper, 2016 CO 73, 383 P.3d 1170, 2016 WL 6868243 (Colo. 2016).

Opinions

CHIEF JUSTICE RICE

delivered the Opinion of the Court.

¶1 This interlocutory appeal requires us to answer whether an officer can reasonably and in good faith rely on a warrant when the warrant affidavit is devoid of specific dates but establishes a long, ongoing pattern of drug trafficking from a home. We hold that there was enough evidence in the warrant affidavit of an ongoing drug trafficking operation that an officer could have a reasonable, good faith belief that the warrant was proper. We therefore reverse the trial court’s suppression order and remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion.

I.Facts and Procedural History

¶2 On September 29, 2015, police officers in Alamosa County, Colorado applied for and received a warrant to search Lonnie Cooper’s residence and vehicles on his property for illegal drugs and other items associated with the sale of illegal drugs.

¶3 The warrant application contained the following information:

1. On September 29, 2015, Your Affiant spoke with a confidential informant regarding drug activity at Lonnie Coopers [sic] (5/22/73) residence located at 220 Main Street. This address is in the City and County of Alamosa, State of Colorado.
2. The informant stated that he had purchased both heroin and methamphetamine from Cooper at the above address. The informant states that he has at times purchased up to an ounce of heroin from [C]ooper.
3. The informant states that the narcotics are somewhere within the residence. He states that [C]ooper sends his nephew into a back room, and that his nephew returns approximately a minute later with the agreed amount.
[1173]*11734. The informant states that Cooper carries large quantities in stock, and sells to only a select few trusted people. The informant knows Cooper from his childhood, and states that he usually purchases narcotics through Cooper.
5. Intelligence reports from other operations have yielded information that Cooper has been dealing from his residence. Undercover officers conducted a.raid and arrested a separate party, who stated that he purchased the 25 grams of methamphetamine that he was found with, from Cooper.
6. The informant states that Cooper usually keeps the narcotics in his house, but on two separate occasions, has seen him keep it in vehicles on his property.
7. The informant confirmed intelligence that Cooper is one of the main movers of methamphetamine and heroin in the valley. The informant also confirmed several (already known to officers) pieces of information that would indicate he is being truthful. •
8. Your affiant requests that the Honorable Judge grant this search warrant for the above items listed at the residence identified as 220 Main Street, Alamosa, Colorado.

¶4 An Alamosa County Court magistrate signed the warrant on the day of application, September 29, 2015. Police officers searched Cooper’s home and found controlled substances, drug paraphernalia, and weapons. The State charged Cooper with two counts of possession with intent to manufacture or distribute a controlled substance (counts 1 and 2); two counts of conspiracy to possess with the intent to manufacture or distribute a controlled substance (counts 3 and 4); three counts of possession of a controlled substance (counts 5-7); seven counts of possession of a weapon by a previous offender (counts 8-14); one count of possessing a prohibited large-capacity magazine (count 15); one count of theft (count 16); one special offender count (count 17); and one habitual criminal count (count 18).

¶5 Cooper moved to suppress the results of the search warrant, arguing that the supporting affidavit was so lacking in indicia of probable cause that no reasonable officer could, in good faith, rely on it. The trial court granted Cooper’s motion to suppress. The trial court was particularly concerned about the affidavit’s “staleness”—i.e., the lack of exact dates in the warrant affidavit. The State filed a timely interlocutory appeal pursuant to section 16-12-202(2), C.R.S. (2016), and C.A.R. 4.1. We now reverse the trial court’s suppression order and remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion.

II. Analysis

¶6 The State argues that, even if the warrant was stale and issued in error, the good faith exception to the exclusionary rule should apply. Therefore, the trial court should admit the evidence seized pursuant to the warrant. We agree.

¶7 “When reviewing a suppression order, we afford the trial court’s factual findings deference and will not overturn those findings if they are supported by competent evidence in the record.” People v. Pacheco, 175 P.3d 91, 94 (Colo. 2006). However, we review a trial court’s legal conclusions de novo. Id.

¶8 “The Fourth Amendment to the United States. Constitution and article II, section 7, of the Colorado Constitution prohibit the issuance of a search warrant except upon probable cause supported by oath or affirmation particularly describing the place to be searched and the things to be seized.” People v. Miller, 75 P.3d 1108, 1112 (Colo. 2003) (citations omitted). “The warrant must establish probable cause to believe that contraband or evidence of criminal activity is located in the place to be searched at the time of the warrant application, not merely some time in the past.” Id.

¶9 “Probable cause exists when an affidavit for a search warrant alleges sufficient facts to warrant a person of reasonable caution to believe that contraband or evidence of criminal activity is located at the place to be searched.” Id. We determine whether probable cause exists by examining the totality of the circumstances. Id at 1113. “Whether information is current or stale [1174]*1174plays an important role in the totality of the circumstances analysis.” Id. “Whether the information is stale and cannot support probable cause depends on the factual circumstances and the type of crime.” Id.

¶10 The exclusionary rale is a “judicially created remedy designed to safeguard Fourth Amendment rights generally through its deterrent effect, rather than a personal constitutional right of the party aggrieved.” United States v. Leon, 468 U.S. 897, 906, 104 S.Ct. 3406, 82 L.Ed.2d 677 (1984). One exception to the exclusionary rale, the good faith exception, applies when, despite an otherwise invalid warrant, a trial court nonetheless admits evidence because the offieer(s) that executed the warrant had a reasonable good faith belief that the search was in accord with the Fourth Amendment. Id. at 909, 104 S.Ct. 3405.

¶11 Colorado codified the good faith exception to the. exclusionary rale at section 16-3-308(4), C.R.S. (2016). Under that section, evidence that would otherwise be excluded as the result of an invalid warrant should be admitted when the officer’s conduct was pursuant to a “reasonable, good faith belief that [the warrant] was proper.” § 16-3-308(4)(a).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2016 CO 73, 383 P.3d 1170, 2016 WL 6868243, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-cooper-colo-2016.