State v. Alter

953 N.E.2d 1182, 2011 Ind. App. LEXIS 1642, 2011 WL 3840995
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedAugust 31, 2011
DocketNo. 85A04-1101-CR-44
StatusPublished

This text of 953 N.E.2d 1182 (State v. Alter) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Alter, 953 N.E.2d 1182, 2011 Ind. App. LEXIS 1642, 2011 WL 3840995 (Ind. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

OPINION

BROWN, Judge.

The State of Indiana appeals the trial court’s grant of a motion to suppress filed by Stephen Alter. The State raises one issue, which we revise and restate as whether the trial court erred in granting the motion to suppress. We affirm.

The relevant facts follow. On May 22, 2010, Indiana Department of Natural Resources Conservation Officer John Near-gardner and Conservation Officer Levi Clark were “on boat patrol” on the Missis-sinewa River in Wabash County, Indiana. Transcript at 6. Officer Neargardner was in uniform and his sidearm was visible.1 The officers were “checking fishermen in the area that were fishing from the bank.” Id.

The officers observed Alter, who was with a juvenile and another female, on the west bank of the river engaged in the act of fishing. The officers proceeded towards Alter in their boat with the intent to “check for their fishing licenses ... and make sure they were in compliance with State law regarding bag limits and size limits with fish.” Id. at 7. As the officers traveled towards Alter’s location, Officer Neargardner observed Alter “pick up something” and place it in his bag. Id. The bag was a black “duffel bag” and “wasn’t too terribly big in size.” Id.

The officers pulled their boat to the edge of the riverbank, Officer Neargard-ner exited the boat and asked for Alter’s fishing license, which Alter produced, and Officer Neargardner determined that the license was valid. While Officer Near-gardner was still in possession of Alter’s fishing license, he asked Alter “do you have anything in your bag?” Id. at 9. Alter stated that he had fishing gear in the bag. Officer Neargardner then asked Alter “if he would open his bag for [him],” and Alter opened the bag and pulled out a bag of chips and another small bag.

Officer Neargardner noticed a black bag “down in the bottom of that initial bag.” Id. at 10. The smaller bag was approximately twelve inches long, six or seven inches wide, and three or four inches high. Officer Neargardner asked what was inside the smaller bag, and Alter stated “fishing gear.” Id. at 13. At that point Officer Neargardner asked Alter to open the bag, and Alter “inquired as to why” and “said it’s just fishing gear.” Id. Officer Neargardner believed that Alter was attempting to conceal something because “as cooperative as he had been up to that point” he “became rather hesitant.” Id. Officer Neargardner had a “hunch” that Alter had marijuana in the smaller bag. See id. at 13, 20. Officer Neargardner then told Alter to give him whatever he had “that’s illegal in the bag,” and Alter asked “so what may that be[?]” Id. at 20. Officer Neargardner then told Alter “give me your marijuana.” Id. Alter then pulled out a jar, which contained a green plant material which field tested positive for marijuana, from the smaller bag. Alter was placed under arrest, the bag and its contents were processed, and some blue and white pills were discovered in the bag.

On May 24, 2010, the State charged Alter with possession of a controlled substance as a class D felony and possession of marijuana as a class D felony. On June 23, 2010, Alter filed a motion to suppress arguing that “the demand that [he] open [1184]*1184his duffel bag was an unreasonable search under the search and seizure provisions of the United States and Indiana Constitutions.” Appellant’s Appendix at 16. After a hearing, the trial court granted Alter’s motion.

The issue is whether the trial court erred when it granted Alter’s motion to suppress. When appealing the trial court’s grant of a motion to suppress, the State appeals from a negative judgment and must show that the ruling was contrary to law. State v. Augustine, 851 N.E.2d 1022, 1025 (Ind.Ct.App.2006). We will reverse a negative judgment only when the evidence is without conflict and all reasonable inferences lead to a conclusion opposite that reached by the trial court. Id. We neither reweigh the evidence nor judge the credibility of the witnesses, and we consider only the evidence most favorable to the judgment. Id.

The State argues that the actions of Officer Neargardner did not constitute a search under the Fourth Amendment or the Indiana Constitution, and that “[n]o law prohibits the simple, non-intrusive order uttered by the officer here.” Appellant’s Brief at 4. With respect to the Fourth Amendment, the State asserts that Officer Neargardner was authorized to assure compliance with fishing laws, that the officer “observed suspicious behavior” when he saw Alter place something in a bag, that the officer’s “suspicion was not allayed even after [Alter] opened the duffel bag,” that the officer noticed Alter’s “air of cooperation ... ceased” when asked about the smaller bag, and that “[t]he entirety of the officer’s verbal encounter with [Alter] was properly within constitutional parameters.” Id. at 5-6. The State further argues that “the simple utterance instructing a person to hand over any contraband” is not “a search or seizure” and that “[t]he utterance does not ‘uncover’ anything; neither does it open any container.” Id. at 7-8. With respect to the Indiana Constitution, the State asserts that “there was no search here,” that Officer Neargardner’s “investigation was very limited in scope and did not intrude unnecessarily into [Alter’s] activities,” and that the officer “needed to check the small black bag to conduct his patrolling and investigation into [Alter’s] compliance with fishing laws.” Id. at 10-11.

Alter argues that the “encounter was plainly a ‘seizure’ under the Fourth Amendment” and that “[t]wo uniformed officers, at least one of whom was armed, demanding that a citizen ‘give [him] the marijuana,’ would certainly suffice to cause a reasonable person to believe that he was not free to leave the officer’s presence.” Appellee’s Brief at 4-5. Alter further argues that “[t]he seizure of Alter by the conservation officers effected a temporary detention,” that “[o]nce Alter produced the valid license, [Officer] Neargardner ha[d] no reason to continue to question Alter,” and that “[finstead, based upon a pure ‘hunch’ and absent any articulable facts, Officer Neargardner proceeded to turn his questioning of Alter into a drug investigation.” Id. at 5.

The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees the right to be secure against unreasonable search and seizure. Augustine, 851 N.E.2d at 1025. In order to determine whether the officer impinged upon Alter’s Fourth Amendment rights, we must first determine what level of investigation occurred. See id. There are three levels of investigation, two of which implicate the Fourth Amendment and one of which does not. Overstreet v. State, 724 N.E.2d 661, 663 (Ind.Ct.App. 2000), reh’g denied, trans. denied. First, the Fourth Amendment requires that an arrest or detention that lasts for more than a short period of time must be justi[1185]*1185fied by probable cause. Id. Second, pursuant to Fourth Amendment jurisprudence, the police may, without a warrant or probable cause, briefly detain an individual for investigatory purposes if, based upon specific and articulable facts, the officer has a reasonable suspicion that criminal activity has occurred or is about to occur. Id.

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

Related

Terry v. Ohio
392 U.S. 1 (Supreme Court, 1968)
Finger v. State
799 N.E.2d 528 (Indiana Supreme Court, 2003)
Payne v. State
854 N.E.2d 1199 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2006)
State v. Calmes
894 N.E.2d 199 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2008)
Richard v. State
482 N.E.2d 282 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 1985)
Shirley v. State
803 N.E.2d 251 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2004)
Overstreet v. State
724 N.E.2d 661 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2000)
State v. Augustine
851 N.E.2d 1022 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2006)
State v. Rager
883 N.E.2d 136 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2008)
Segar v. State
937 N.E.2d 917 (Indiana Court of Appeals, 2010)
Campos v. State
885 N.E.2d 590 (Indiana Supreme Court, 2008)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
953 N.E.2d 1182, 2011 Ind. App. LEXIS 1642, 2011 WL 3840995, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-alter-indctapp-2011.