State v. 1955 Beechcraft D-50 Aircraft

677 S.W.2d 596, 1984 Tex. App. LEXIS 5688
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 20, 1984
DocketNo. 13928
StatusPublished

This text of 677 S.W.2d 596 (State v. 1955 Beechcraft D-50 Aircraft) 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
State v. 1955 Beechcraft D-50 Aircraft, 677 S.W.2d 596, 1984 Tex. App. LEXIS 5688 (Tex. Ct. App. 1984).

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

Appeal is taken from a judgment denying forfeiture of a 1955 Beechcraft D-50 aircraft (the aircraft). On appeal, the State raises two points of error in which it contends that James R. Goff lacked standing to contest the forfeiture, and that the district court erred in ruling that a search warrant under which the aircraft was searched and seized was invalid because the accompanying affidavit failed to establish probable cause. This Court will reverse the judgment of the district court.

By its first point of error, the State asserts that James R. Goff lacked standing to contest the forfeiture. In this regard, the State notes that the district court, in an earlier proceeding, had found that Goff was not the owner of the aircraft. However, the district court then discovered that the owner alleged by the State had not been served properly. Therefore, the district court vacated and set aside all action taken and all orders of the court made on the previous hearing.

After proper service, another hearing was held at which Goff tendered evidence consisting of testimony from himself and others showing that he was the owner of the aircraft. The State countered this evidence by showing that Goff had never registered the aircraft with the Federal Aviation Administration and that he could not produce a bill of sale. The district court, acting as the trier of fact, was justified in resolving the conflicting testimony in favor of Goff. No error is shown.

In its second point of error, the State complains that the district court erred in ruling that the search warrant under which the aircraft was searched and seized was invalid due to an insufficient affidavit. The district court noted that the handwritten affidavit was confusing since it referenced two different airplanes. However, it is this Court’s opinion that a careful examination of the handwritten affidavit reveals that it is based on statements given to the affiant by Lynn Smith, a customs air officer.

In determining whether there was probable cause for the search warrant, the reviewing court must limit its examination to the four corners of the affidavit. Jones v. State, 568 S.W.2d 847, 855 (Tex.Cr.App.1978), Oubre v. State, 542 S.W.2d 875 (Tex.Cr.App.1976), and Lopez v. State, 535 S.W.2d 643 (Tex.Cr.App.1976). In this case, the handwritten affidavit may be considered within the “four corners of the [598]*598affidavit” because it is incorporated by reference in the search warrant.

Any court reviewing the initial decision of the magistrate must be mindful of the following considerations in evaluating the showing of probable cause: the analysis is one of “factual and practicable considerations of everyday life on which reasonable and prudent men, and not legal technicians, act.” Brinegar v. United States, 338 U.S. 160, 175, 69 S.Ct. 1302, 1310, 93 L.Ed. 1879 (1949); United States v. Head, 693 F.2d 353, 357 (5th Cir.1982). Moreover, the affidavit is tested by a much less rigorous standard than evidence adduced at trial. United States v. Flynn, 664 F.2d 1296, 1304, (5th Cir.1982), cert. denied, 456 U.S. 390, 102 S.Ct. 1979, 72 L.Ed.2d 446 (1982). And the court should not consider each individual item of information separately; it should evaluate the “laminated total” of available facts. Doescher v. Estelle, 666 F.2d 285, 289 (5th Cir.1982); United States v. Edwards, 577 F.2d 883, 895 (5th Cir.1978), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 968, 99 S.Ct. 458, 58 L.Ed.2d 427 (1978). Additionally, the magistrate’s determination that probable cause was shown by the affidavit is entitled to great deference. United States v. Smith, 686 F.2d 234, 238 n.3 (5th Cir.1982); United States v. Freeman, 685 F.2d 942, 948 (5th Cir.1982); United States v. Flynn, supra, at 1304. Lastly, the determination that probable cause existed should be sustained in “doubtful or marginal cases.” United States v. Ventresca, 380 U.S. 102, 106, 85 S.Ct. 741, 744, 13 L.Ed.2d 684 (1965); accord Freeman, supra at 948; United States v. Maestas, 546 F.2d 1177, 1180 (5th Cir.1977).

The ultimate decision in this case rests on the sufficiency of the handwritten affidavit and the intrusive nature of looking into the airplane windows. The handwritten affidavit begins by reciting that the affiant was planning to obtain a warrant to place a “beeper” on a Beechcraft twin-engine aircraft serial number DH-3 because of information supplied by a “reliable confidential informant” that this plane would be utilized to smuggle a load of marihuana into the United States from Mexico. However, affiant’s plan was interrupted when he received word that the Beechcraft (DH-3) had changed locations. At about the same time the affiant discovered that other custom agents were following a blue Beechcraft airplane (FAA registration number N227ES) which was being flown into the United States illegally from Mexico. The affiant decided to alter his plan and assist the other agents.

According to the handwritten affidavit, the affiant then proceeded to the Winters, Texas airport where the blue Beechcraft had landed. The affiant met with customs air officer Lynn Smith. Officer Smith advised affiant that he had apprehended the pilot of the blue Beechcraft and that he had also observed another Beechcraft airplane parked near the blue Beechcraft1 bearing the FAA registration number (N4749B) of the aircraft originally being sought by the affiant. The handwritten affidavit goes on to state that Officer Smith had walked over to this second aircraft and felt the engines, “which were hot to the touch,” indicating to Smith that the aircraft had only been there a very short time. Smith had also climbed onto the wing and looked into the aircraft through the windows. “He could see marijuana debris on the floor of the aircraft in open view. He also noted that the passenger seats had been removed from the aircraft.”

As previously stated, Officer Smith told the affiant what he personally observed. There is no doubt that both the affiant and the magistrate could rely on what Officer Smith stated he saw. Gish v. Smith, 606 [599]*599S.W.2d 883, 886 (Tex.Cr.App.1980). Furthermore, there is no doubt that the quantity and reliability of information supplied by Officer Smith established probable cause. Therefore, it is unnecessary to pursue the reliability of the confidential informant.

The next relevant issue is whether the actions of Officer Smith in climbing onto the wing of the airplane and looking through the window constituted a search.

“A search means, of necessity, a quest for, a looking for, or a seeking out of that which offends the law.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Brinegar v. United States
338 U.S. 160 (Supreme Court, 1949)
United States v. Ventresca
380 U.S. 102 (Supreme Court, 1965)
Katz v. United States
389 U.S. 347 (Supreme Court, 1967)
Chambers v. Maroney
399 U.S. 42 (Supreme Court, 1970)
United States v. Chadwick
433 U.S. 1 (Supreme Court, 1977)
Smith v. Maryland
442 U.S. 735 (Supreme Court, 1979)
Oliver v. United States
466 U.S. 170 (Supreme Court, 1984)
The State of Texas v. Salvador Gonzales
388 F.2d 145 (Fifth Circuit, 1968)
United States v. Mary Delores Maestas
546 F.2d 1177 (Fifth Circuit, 1977)
United States v. William Daniel Gooch, Jr.
603 F.2d 122 (Tenth Circuit, 1979)
United States v. Jerry Lee Head
693 F.2d 353 (Fifth Circuit, 1982)
Lopez v. State
535 S.W.2d 643 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1976)
Turner v. State
499 S.W.2d 182 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1973)
Wheeler v. State
659 S.W.2d 381 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1983)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
677 S.W.2d 596, 1984 Tex. App. LEXIS 5688, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-1955-beechcraft-d-50-aircraft-texapp-1984.