State v. Anderson

Idaho Court of Appeals·Decided June 16, 2025·No. 51345·Published

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF IDAHO

Docket No. 51345

STATE OF IDAHO, ) ) Filed: June 16, 2025 Plaintiff-Appellant, ) ) Melanie Gagnepain, Clerk v. ) ) JASEN HEATH ANDERSON, ) ) Defendant-Respondent. ) )

Appeal from the District Court of the Fifth Judicial District, State of Idaho, Twin Falls County. Hon. Roger B. Harris, District Judge.

Order granting motion to suppress, reversed and remanded for further proceedings.

Hon. Raúl R. Labrador, Attorney General; Kale D. Gans, Deputy Attorney General, Boise, for appellant. Kale D. Gans argued.

Erik R. Lehtinen, State Appellate Public Defender; Sally J. Cooley, Deputy Appellate Public Defender, Boise, for respondent. Kierra Mai argued. ________________________________________________ TRIBE, Judge The State of Idaho appeals from the district court’s order granting Jasen Heath Anderson’s motion to suppress. We reverse and remand for further proceedings. I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND Officer Baisch stopped a vehicle driven by Anderson for exceeding the posted speed limit, failing to maintain his lane, and operating his cell phone while driving. Officer Baisch approached Anderson’s vehicle and noticed many items, which gave the vehicle a “lived-in” look, as if Anderson was not stopping on long-distance travel. As Anderson was searching for his insurance information on his phone, Officer Baisch asked Anderson to step out of his vehicle, which he did. By the time Anderson exited his vehicle, Officer Carlson had arrived as backup. Once Anderson found his insurance information, Officer Baisch handed Anderson’s license and registration to

1 Officer Carlson so he could assume the role of the investigating officer for the initial violations. Officer Carlson began checking Anderson’s information. While Officer Carlson was in Officer Baisch’s vehicle checking Anderson’s information, Officer Baisch deployed his K-9. As the K-9 sniffed the exterior of Anderson’s vehicle, and before the K-9’s nose touched the vehicle on the passenger door seam, Officer Baisch believed the K-9 showed multiple general alert behaviors to the presence of controlled substances. When Anderson was told the K-9 alerted and the vehicle would be searched, Anderson admitted there was a methamphetamine pipe in the vehicle. At this time, the officers conducted a search of the interior of the vehicle and found a pipe which contained residue that tested positive for methamphetamine. Anderson was charged with possession of a controlled substance (Idaho Code § 37-2732(c)(1)), and the State filed a persistent violator sentence enhancement (I.C. § 19-2514). Anderson filed a motion to suppress, contending that the stop was extended without reasonable suspicion and that the K-9’s free-air sniff was converted into a warrantless search when the K-9 trespassed against the exterior of his vehicle. The State responded that the stop had not been unlawfully extended and that the alleged trespass occurred after the K-9 had alerted. The district court held a hearing. The district court rejected Anderson’s claim that the traffic stop was unlawfully prolonged or delayed but, at an ensuing hearing, granted the motion to suppress based on State v. Dorff, 171 Idaho 818, 526 P.3d 988 (2023). Specifically, the district court found that the K-9’s “indication was one continuous motion when he pressed the nose to the vehicle and then gave his final alert.” The State appeals. II. STANDARD OF REVIEW The standard of review of a suppression motion is bifurcated. When a decision on a motion to suppress is challenged, we accept the trial court’s findings of fact that are supported by substantial evidence, but we freely review the application of constitutional principles to the facts as found. State v. Atkinson, 128 Idaho 559, 561, 916 P.2d 1284, 1286 (Ct. App. 1996). At a suppression hearing, the power to assess the credibility of witnesses, resolve factual conflicts, weigh evidence, and draw factual inferences is vested in the trial court. State v. Valdez-Molina, 127 Idaho 102, 106, 897 P.2d 993, 997 (1995); State v. Schevers, 132 Idaho 786, 789, 979 P.2d 659, 662 (Ct. App. 1999).

2 III. ANALYSIS On appeal, the State argues that, because the K-9 alerted and established probable cause before the K-9 touched Anderson’s vehicle, the district court erred in determining there was an unlawful trespass. Anderson argues the district court correctly granted the motion to suppress. The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. Warrantless searches are presumed to be unreasonable and, therefore, violative of the Fourth Amendment. State v. Weaver, 127 Idaho 288, 290, 900 P.2d 196, 198 (1995). A reliable drug dog’s sniff of the exterior of a vehicle is not a search under the Fourth Amendment and does not require either a warrant or an exception to the warrant requirement. See Illinois v. Caballes, 543 U.S. 405, 409 (2005). Article I, Section 17 of the Idaho Constitution, similarly provides that: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures shall not be violated; and no warrant shall issue without probable cause shown by affidavit, particularly describing the place to be searched and the person or thing to be seized. The automobile exception to the warrant requirement allows police to search a vehicle without a warrant when there is probable cause to believe the vehicle contains contraband or evidence of a crime. See United States v. Ross, 456 U.S. 798, 823-24 (1982). Probable cause is established when the totality of the circumstances known to the officer at the time of the search would give rise--in the mind of a reasonable person--to a fair probability that contraband or evidence of a crime will be found in a particular place. State v. Anderson, 154 Idaho 703, 706, 302 P.3d 328, 331 (2012). Probable cause is a flexible common-sense standard, requiring only a practical, nontechnical probability that incriminating evidence is present. Id. In Florida v. Harris, 568 U.S. 237 (2013), the United States Supreme Court noted that evidence of a dog’s satisfactory performance in a certification or training program can itself provide sufficient reason to trust his alert and that if a bona fide organization has certified a dog after testing his reliability in a controlled setting, a court can presume (subject to any conflicting evidence offered) that the dog’s alert provides probable cause to search. Id. at 246-47. Finally, the Court in Harris ruled that, if the State has produced proof from controlled settings that a dog

3 performs reliably in detecting drugs and the defendant has not contested that showing, the court should find probable cause. Id. at 248. The Idaho Supreme Court has recognized the distinction between a drug dog’s general alert behavior and the dog’s trained final indication. State v. Howard, 169 Idaho 379, 384, 496 P.3d 865, 870 (2021). The Court noted that the absence of a final indication is not ipso facto an absence of probable cause. Id.

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Related

United States v. Ross
456 U.S. 798 (Supreme Court, 1982)
Illinois v. Caballes
543 U.S. 405 (Supreme Court, 2005)
Florida v. Harris
133 S. Ct. 1050 (Supreme Court, 2013)
State v. Steven Clay Anderson
302 P.3d 328 (Idaho Supreme Court, 2012)
United States v. Jonathan Thomas
726 F.3d 1086 (Ninth Circuit, 2013)
State v. Weaver
900 P.2d 196 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1995)
State v. Schevers
979 P.2d 659 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 1999)
State v. Valdez-Molina
897 P.2d 993 (Idaho Supreme Court, 1995)
State v. Atkinson
916 P.2d 1284 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 1996)
State v. Randall
496 P.3d 844 (Idaho Supreme Court, 2021)
State v. Howard
496 P.3d 865 (Idaho Supreme Court, 2021)
State v. Ricks
539 P.3d 190 (Idaho Court of Appeals, 2023)
State v. Dorff
526 P.3d 988 (Idaho Supreme Court, 2023)