Rovnak v. State

990 S.W.2d 863, 1999 Tex. App. LEXIS 2714, 1999 WL 203569
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 13, 1999
Docket06-98-00062-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by33 cases

This text of 990 S.W.2d 863 (Rovnak v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rovnak v. State, 990 S.W.2d 863, 1999 Tex. App. LEXIS 2714, 1999 WL 203569 (Tex. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinions

OPINION

Opinion by

Justice GRANT.

Richard Rovnak appeals his conviction for possession of marihuana in an amount of 2,000 pounds or less, but more than fifty pounds. After the trial court denied Rov-nak’s motion to suppress, Rovnak entered a plea of guilty pursuant to a plea bargain agreement. The trial court assessed punishment at five years’ confinement in the TDJC-ID, probated, and a $2,000 fine. Rovnak timely filed a general notice of appeal.

Rovnak contends the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress because the warrantless search which produced the complained-of evidence violated his right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures under the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments of the United States Constitution. Rovnak also contends the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress because the warrantless search violated Article I, § 9 of the Texas Constitution and Article 38.23 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure.

On March 4, 1997, Officer Harvey Lyn Beasley of the Ark-La-Tex Narcotics Task Force was working narcotics interdiction on Interstate 30 in Morris County, Texas. Officer Beasley stopped Rovnak for exceeding the speed limit. Officer Beasley approached Rovnak and asked him for his driver’s license and vehicle registration. Rovnak could not produce his driver’s license and advised Officer Beasley that the vehicle was a rental vehicle. He gave Officer Beasley the rental agreement that stated the vehicle had been rented by Robert Kidd. Rovnak’s name did not appear on the agreement as an approved driver.

[866]*866Rovnak testified that he and Kidd went to the rental agency together. Kidd rented the car using his credit card, because Rovnak did not have a credit card. The Budget employee handed Kidd the keys to the rental vehicle, and Kidd handed them to Rovnak. Kidd returned to his car and left. Rovnak drove the rental vehicle away. Rovnak further testified that the Budget employee “knew what was occurring.”

Officer Beasley issued Rovnak a warning citation and noted that Rovnak appeared very nervous. Officer Beasley testified that Rovnak told him he was coming from Houston, where he had been visiting a friend, and was going back home to Ohio. Officer Beasley thought the route Rovnak was traveling was unusual for someone traveling from Houston to Ohio. He then asked Rovnak if there were any drugs in the vehicle, and Rovnak told him there were not. Officer Beasley asked for consent to search the vehicle, and Rovnak told Officer Beasley he could check his luggage, which was on the back seat. When Officer Beasley began to search the luggage in the back seat, he smelled the odor of marihuana. A search ensued, and marihuana was found in zipper bags in the trunk of the car. Rovnak filed a pretrial motion to suppress the evidence, a hearing was held, and the trial court denied the motion. Subsequently, Rovnak pleaded guilty and the trial court assessed punishment consistent with Rovnak’s plea bargain.

A trial court’s ruling on a motion to suppress lies within the sound discretion of that court.1 At the hearing on the motion, the trial court is the sole judge of the credibility of the witnesses and the weight to be given their testimony.2 The reason for this rule is that the trial court, who observes the demeanor and appearance of the witnesses, is in a better position to determine their credibility than is the appellate court, who reads their testimony as it appears in the record. Therefore, an appellate court must view the record evidence and all reasonable inferences therefrom in the light most favorable to the trial court’s ruling and must sustain the trial court’s ruling if it is reasonably supported by the record and is correct on any theory of law applicable to the case.3

Rovnak contends the search occurred without his consent and was not justified by any exception to the warrant requirements of either the United States or Texas Constitutions. Rovnak contends that the ultimate issue to be decided on appeal is the issue of standing.

First, we will address whether Rovnak had standing to challenge the search. The purpose of both the Fourth Amendment and Article I, § 9 “is to safeguard an individual’s legitimate expectation of privacy from unreasonable governmental intrusions.”4 An accused has standing under both constitutional provisions to challenge the admission of evidence obtained by a governmental intrusion only if he had a legitimate expectation of privacy in the place invaded.5 Furthermore, the accused, because he has greater access to the relevant evidence, has the burden of proving facts establishing a legitimate expectation of privacy.6 To carry this burden, the accused must normally prove: (a) that by his conduct, he exhibited an actual subjective expectation of pri[867]*867vacy, i.e., a genuine intention to preserve something as private; and (b) that circumstances existed under which society was prepared to recognize his subjective expectation as objectively reasonable.7 The following, at least, are relevant to the court’s determination of whether the accused’s subjective expectation was one that society was prepared to recognize as objectively reasonable: (1) whether the accused had a property or possessory interest in the place invaded; (2) whether he was legitimately in the place invaded; (3) whether he had complete dominion or control and the right to exclude others; (4) whether, before the intrusion, he took normal precautions customarily taken by those seeking privacy; (5) whether he put the place to some private use; and (6) whether his-claim of privacy is consistent with historical notions of privacy.8

Rovnak contends he had standing to challenge the search because he possessed a reasonable expectation of privacy in the vehicle, as evidenced by both Robert Kidd’s permission and the rental agency’s tacit permission to drive the vehicle. The rule is established that if an appellant cannot show he had a legitimate expectation of privacy in the vehicle, he does not have standing to contest its search. When the legality of a search is in issue, the defendant bears the burden of proving his own privacy rights were violated.9

It is established in this state that a defendant has standing to challenge the search of an automobile he does not own if he shows he gained possession of the borrowed car from the owner or one authorized to give permission to drive it.10 Rovnak contends United States v. Kye Soo Lee11 is dispositive of the issue of Rovnak’s standing. In Lee, the court held that the driver of a Ryder truck and his passenger had standing to challenge a search of the vehicle because the third party named in the rental agreement as the renter of the vehicle gave both the driver and the passenger permission to drive the truck. While this case is on point, cases from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Texas, and other circuits have rejected this reasoning and held that an unauthorized driver does not have a legitimate expectation of privacy in the vehicle he is driving. Following is a summary of these cases.

[868]*868In United States v. Boruff,12 the defendant’s girlfriend rented a car in her own name and turned it over to him.13

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Bluebook (online)
990 S.W.2d 863, 1999 Tex. App. LEXIS 2714, 1999 WL 203569, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rovnak-v-state-texapp-1999.