State of Tennessee v. James Robert Christensen, Jr.

517 S.W.3d 60, 2017 WL 1291657, 2017 Tenn. LEXIS 195
CourtTennessee Supreme Court
DecidedApril 7, 2017
DocketW2014-00931-SC-R11-CD
StatusPublished
Cited by23 cases

This text of 517 S.W.3d 60 (State of Tennessee v. James Robert Christensen, Jr.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Tennessee Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State of Tennessee v. James Robert Christensen, Jr., 517 S.W.3d 60, 2017 WL 1291657, 2017 Tenn. LEXIS 195 (Tenn. 2017).

Opinions

OPINION

Jeffrey S. Bivins, C.J.,

delivered the opinion of the Court,

in which Cornelia A. Clark and Holly Kirby, JJ., joined. Sharon G. Lee, J., filed a dissenting opinion. Roger A. Page, J., not participating.

James Robert Christensen, Jr., (“the Defendant”) was convicted by a jury of resisting arrest, promoting the manufacture of methamphetamine, initiating the manufacture of methamphetamine, and two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony. Prior to trial, the Defendant moved to suppress evidence obtained through what he claimed was an illegal search. The trial court denied the Defendant’s motion and also denied the Defendant’s motion seeking an interlocutory appeal. On direct appeal following trial, the Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the trial court’s judgments, including the trial court’s ruling on the suppression issue. We granted the Defendant’s application for permission to appeal in order to address the legality of the police officers’ warrantless entry onto the curtilage of the Defendant’s residence. We hold that the officers’ entry onto the De[64]*64fendant’s property was constitutionally permissible in spite of the posted “No Trespassing” signs near the Defendant’s unobstructed driveway. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the Court of Criminal Appeals.

Factual and Procedural Background

In August 2013, two law enforcement officers drove down the Defendant’s unobstructed driveway, parked near his residence, and walked up to the Defendant’s front porch. The Defendant opened his front door, stepped onto his porch, and closed and locked the front door behind him. After the Defendant opened his door, the officers smelled the odor of methamphetamine being manufactured. They asked the Defendant for consent to enter his residence, but the Defendant refused to give consent. One of the officers then forced open the front door, while the other officer detained the Defendant. Inside the residence, the entering officer discovered an active methamphetamine lab, along with several inactive labs, various items commonly associated with the manufacture of methamphetamine, and several guns. The Defendant subsequently was indicted on one count each of resisting arrest, promoting the manufacture of methamphetamine, and initiating the manufacture of methamphetamine, and two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony.

Prior to trial, the Defendant filed a motion to suppress evidence, claiming that the evidence had been seized as the result of an unlawful search because he had posted “No Trespassing” signs near his driveway. The Defendant asserted that the officers’ entry onto his property without a warrant violated both the United States and Tennessee Constitutions. After a hearing, the trial court denied the motion. The Defendant then filed a motion for interlocutory appeal, which the trial court also denied. Accordingly, the Defendant proceeded to a jury trial, and he was convicted as charged. The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the Defendant’s convictions and sentences. State v. Christensen, No. W2014-00931-CCA-R3-CD, 2015 WL 2330185, at *11 (Tenn. Crim. App. May 14, 2015).1

Before this Court, the Defendant challenges only the denial of his motion to suppress. We summarize below the relevant proof adduced at the suppression hearing and the trial.2

On August 3, 2013, Investigators Michael Green and Brent Chunn, narcotics investigators for the Tipton County Sheriffs Office, went to a residence on Beaver Creek Lane in Tipton County after receiving information regarding a pseudoephed-rine purchase at a Kroger by Mariah Davis. They also received information from an informant named Kyle Wolfe regarding an individual named Cody Gatlin, who was in a relationship with Ms. Davis. Investigator Green was familiar with Mr. Gatlin “through [his] law enforcement career.”

At this residence, the investigators spoke with Ms. Davis, Mr. Gatlin, and John Harkness.3 The investigators first spoke with Ms. Davis and questioned her [65]*65about her pseudoephedrine purchase. Initially, she told the investigators that she had taken the medicine to her grandmother’s house in Mason, The investigators then asked if Mr. Gatlin was home. While Mr. Gatlin was not initially present, he eventually walked over from the Defendant’s residence next door, about forty to fifty feet away. During this time, Investigator Green observed the Defendant, over at his residence, looking “out [his] screen door over to where [they] were.”

When the investigators asked Mr. Gatlin about the pseudoephedrine purchase, he replied that he had taken the pills next door to the Defendant, who was in the process of using them to make methamphetamine. At that point, the investigators backed down Mr. Harkness’ driveway and drove thirty to forty feet to the Defendant’s driveway next door. The investigators then drove down the Defendant’s driveway and parked near the Defendant’s trailer home.

Investigator Green described the Defendant’s driveway as being gravel and approximately sixty to seventy yards long, with a sign near the roadway that said “no spraying.” He did not recall, however, seeing a “No Trespassing" sign. Investigator Chunn did not recall seeing any posted signs when they entered the Defendant’s property. Because it was summertime, the grass was very tall. Investigator Green estimated that the grass “would come up probably to my chin, and I’m six three.”

As the officers walked up to the Defendant’s front porch, the Defendant, holding a cane, opened the door and walked out to meet them. As soon as the Defendant opened the door, both investigators smelled an overwhelming odor associated with the manufacture of methamphetamine, even though the Defendant was several feet from the investigators at the time. Investigator Green explained that the smell differed from methamphetamine in its finished product state, in that

[w]hen the chemical reaction is actually taking place, your smells are louder, you know. And at the finished product you’ve basically just got a powder there that maybe if you open a bag you’ll get a hit [sic] of starter fluid or something, but nothing like it is when it’s being manufactured.

From his training with methamphetamine, Investigator Green knew that methamphetamine labs were “very volatile,” in that they could catch on fire quickly.

As the investigators explained to the Defendant why they were there, the Defendant denied any illegal activity. The investigators asked for consent to enter the residence because the Defendant initially seemed cooperative, and, according to Investigator Green, he “would much rather have consent than ... just have to kick a door in.” When the Defendant denied consent, however, the investigators decided to enter the trailer “[d]ue to .,. exigent circumstances.” According to Investigator Green, there was no time to obtain a search warrant because

Methamphetamine is basically, it’s starter fluid, ammonium nitrate. It’s a bomb in a bottle. It builds up pressure in a bottle. If you’re not there to release that pressure, it’s going to blow out, blow up, whatever you want to call it. So exigent circumstances, it’s I don’t have time to go get a search warrant. I’ve got to get in that house and make it safe right now. If I wait, it’s going to blow up on us.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
517 S.W.3d 60, 2017 WL 1291657, 2017 Tenn. LEXIS 195, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-of-tennessee-v-james-robert-christensen-jr-tenn-2017.