S & S Pawn Shop Inc. v. City of Del City

947 F.2d 432, 1991 WL 199538
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
DecidedOctober 9, 1991
DocketNo. 90-6101
StatusPublished
Cited by29 cases

This text of 947 F.2d 432 (S & S Pawn Shop Inc. v. City of Del City) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
S & S Pawn Shop Inc. v. City of Del City, 947 F.2d 432, 1991 WL 199538 (10th Cir. 1991).

Opinion

McKAY, Chief Judge.

Appellant seeks reversal of the district court’s determination that Okla.Stat.Ann. tit. 59, § 1508 (West 1989), which authorizes warrantless inspections of pawnshops, does not violate the fourth amendment of the United States Constitution. He also urges that the district court incorrectly abstained from deciding the constitutionality of Okla.Stat.Ann. tit. 21, § 1092 (West 1983).

I.

Appellant Andrew W. Eckert is the owner and operator of S & S Pawnshop, Inc. in Del City, Oklahoma.2 In 1985 and 1986, [435]*435Del City police officers conducted warrant-less searches of the pawn shop and seized property that had been reported as stolen. The items were taken for use as evidence in criminal proceedings. Some of the items were later delivered to individuals who had reported the items stolen. Others were released by the Del City Police Department to other law enforcement agencies.

The police officers conducted the war-rantless searches pursuant to section 1508 of the Oklahoma Pawnshop Act, Okla.Stat. Ann. tit. 59, §§ 1501-15 (West 1989). Section 1508 establishes that the books, records, and property of pawnbrokers licensed by the state may be examined without a warrant. The statute specifies that the chief of police or written designee of the law enforcement body in whose jurisdiction the pawnshop is located may perform the examination. Failure to permit an examination of such books, records, or property constitutes grounds for the suspension or revocation of the pawnbroker’s license.3

Though raised nowhere in appellant’s complaint or other pleadings in the district court nor in his brief before this court, depositions appended to the parties’ memo-randa in support of their respective motions for partial summary judgment evidence the procedure used by the Del City policemen when searching appellant’s business. Though the record does not indicate whether the process is routine or pursuant to a pre-planned scheme, the police apparently collected pawn tickets from appellant and ran any identification number on the pawned item through the National Crime Information Center. When the identification and description of the pawned item matched the identification number and description of a stolen item on the NCIC or other police report, the police officers traveled to appellant’s business and, without a warrant, demanded that they be shown the item. One affidavit indicated that such a search was also pursued when an individual who pawned the item was suspected of trafficking in stolen goods. In particular, eight items listed in appellant’s complaint apparently were subjected to such an “inspection” and subsequently confiscated, also without a warrant. In count three of his complaint, appellant alleges that the officers were acting pursuant to the state provision whose constitutionality is under attack here. Appellant never makes clear, however, whether the inspection of the pawn tickets or the later inspection and confiscation of the pawned items are at issue.

Appellant filed this action requesting that the district court order appellees to cease all searches of S & S Pawn Shop, Inc. without a valid search warrant. He also sought an order by the court declaring Okla.Stat.Ann. tit. 59, § 1508 unconstitutional for overbreadth and vagueness. In addition, appellant challenged the constitutionality of Okla.Stat.Ann. tit. 21, § 1092, [436]*436which establishes that any pawnbroker who refuses to exhibit stolen goods to a peace officer or the owner of the goods is guilty of a felony.

The district court granted summary judgment in favor of appellees on the ground that the warrantless searches made pursuant to section 1508 fall within the exception to the warrant requirement for inspections of “closely regulated” businesses. See New York v. Burger, 482 U.S. 691, 107 S.Ct. 2636, 96 L.Ed.2d 601 (1987). In reaching its conclusion, the district court appears to have treated appellant’s challenge to the Oklahoma provision as a facial challenge and did not review the statute as it was applied to him. The court abstained from deciding the constitutionality of Okla. Stat.Ann. tit. 21, § 1092 because the statute was subject to an interpretation that would avoid a constitutional question. See Babbitt v. United, Farm Workers Natl Union, 442 U.S. 289, 306, 99 S.Ct. 2301, 2313, 60 L.Ed.2d 895 (1979). We review the district court’s conclusions of law de novo. In re Ruti-Sweetwater, Inc., 836 F.2d 1263, 1266 (10th Cir.1988).

II.

The fourth amendment prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. As a general rule, warrantless searches are unreasonable, and this rule applies to both commercial premises as well as homes. Marshall v. Barlow’s, Inc., 436 U.S. 307, 312, 98 S.Ct. 1816, 1820, 56 L.Ed.2d 305 (1978). The Supreme Court has recognized an exception to the warrant requirement whereby warrantless administrative searches may be reasonable within the meaning of the fourth amendment when the premises are used in a closely regulated business or industry. See, e.g., New York v. Burger, 482 U.S. at 691, 107 S.Ct. at 2636 (automobile junkyards); Donovan v. Dewey, 452 U.S. 594, 101 S.Ct. 2534, 69 L.Ed.2d 262 (1981) (mines); United States v. Biswell, 406 U.S. 311, 92 S.Ct. 1593, 32 L.Ed.2d 87 (1972) (firearms); Colonnade Catering Corp. v. United States, 397 U.S. 72, 90 S.Ct. 774, 25 L.Ed.2d 60 (1970) (alcoholic beverages). Warrantless inspections of commercial enterprises in a closely regulated industry are reasonable if the inspection satisfies three criteria:

First, there must be a “substantial” government interest that informs the regulatory scheme pursuant to which the inspection is made....
Second, the warrantless inspections must be “necessary to further [the] regulatory scheme.” ...
Finally, “the statute’s inspection program, in terms of the certainty and regularity of its application, [must] provid[e] a constitutionally adequate substitute for a warrant.” ... In other words, the regulatory statute must perform the two basic functions of a warrant: it must advise the owner of the commercial premises that the search is being made pursuant to the law and has a properly defined scope, and it must limit the discretion of the inspecting officers.

Burger, 482 U.S. at 702-703, 107 S.Ct.

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947 F.2d 432, 1991 WL 199538, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/s-s-pawn-shop-inc-v-city-of-del-city-ca10-1991.