State v. Bailey

49 So. 3d 1245, 2010 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 32, 2010 WL 1740417
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Alabama
DecidedApril 30, 2010
DocketCR-09-0115
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 49 So. 3d 1245 (State v. Bailey) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Bailey, 49 So. 3d 1245, 2010 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 32, 2010 WL 1740417 (Ala. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinions

WISE, Presiding Judge.

The appellee, Elaine Bailey, was indicted for unlawful possession of a controlled substance, a violation of § 13A-12-212(a)(1), Ala.Code 1975. She filed a motion to suppress a crack rock law enforcement officers seized during a patdown search. After conducting a hearing, the trial court granted Bailey’s motion to suppress. This appeal followed.

During the suppression hearing, Officer Shalinda Teresa McCoy of the Montgomery Police Department testified that, on May 23, 2009, she and her partner, Officer Caufield, were on the Mobile Highway; that she thought it was probably either 11:00 p.m. or 12:00 a.m.; that they saw a bicycle traveling down the middle of the road and into oncoming traffic; that they saw Bailey and a man on the bicycle; that the man was peddling the bicycle, and Bailey was holding onto him and standing on the back of the bicycle; that the two were not wearing helmets and did not have reflectors or any other type of safety gear; that not wearing helmets and not having reflectors was a safety hazard and a violation; that she and Caufield stopped Bailey and the man; and that they asked Bailey and the man for identification, but neither of them could produce any type of identification. Subsequently, the following occurred:

“[PROSECUTOR:] And when they weren’t able to produce identification, what did you do?
“[WITNESS:] Asked both of them to step off the bike and put the bike down. My partner, Officer Caufield, he patted down the guy, the male subject, and I patted down the female. We patted them down for officer safety because they didn’t have any identification and we didn’t know who they were.
“[PROSECUTOR:] Now, is that a routine practice? When you don’t have — when someone doesn’t give you ID, do you pat people down? Is it checking for IDs? Is that what you’re doing?
“[WITNESS:] No. We’re doing it for officer safety to see if they could have weapons or anything because we don’t know who they are. They could be ex-felons or anything. We don’t know who they are.”

(R. 6.)

McCoy further testified that she patted down Bailey; that Bailey had bulky items in her pocket, and she asked Bailey what was in her pocket; that Bailey pulled everything out of her pocket; and that Bailey had lip gloss, condoms, and a crack rock in her pocket.

Finally, McCoy testified that the stop occurred in an area that was known for prostitution; that, when she and Caufield were talking to them, the man told her that he did not know Bailey and had just met her, but Bailey said the man was her boyfriend; that the two stories did not add up; and that she and Caufield thought it might be “a prostitution deal or something.” (R.8.)

[1247]*1247The State argues that the trial court erroneously granted Bailey’s motion to suppress the crack rock McCoy seized during the patdown search. Specifically, it contends that, based on the totality of the circumstances, a reasonably prudent person in McCoy’s position would have been justified in believing that her safety and the safety of others was in danger. In State v. Hill, 690 So.2d 1201, 1203-04 (Ala.1996), the supreme court stated the following with regard to standards of review to be applied when reviewing a trial court’s ruling on a motion to suppress:

“ “Where evidence is presented to the trial court ore terms in a nonjury case, a presumption of correctness exists as to the court’s conclusions on issues of fact; its determination will not be disturbed unless clearly erroneous, without supporting evidence, manifestly unjust, or against the great weight of the evidence. Odom v. Hull, 658 So.2d 442 (Ala.1995). However, when the trial court improperly applies the law to the facts, no presumption of correctness exists as to the court’s judgment. Ex parte Board of Zoning Adjustment of the City of Mobile, 686 So.2d 415 (Ala.1994).’
“[Ex parte Agee,] 669 So.2d [102,] 104 [ (Ala.1995) ].”

In R.W. v. State, 913 So.2d 505, 512-13 (Ala.Crim.App.2005), this court addressed the issue of patdown searches as follows:

“ ‘[I]n Terry v. Ohio, [392 U.S. 1 (1968) ], the United States Supreme Court held that a limited search for weapons was partially justified by the need to protect the arresting officer from assault with a concealed weapon. “In determining whether a police officer had a basis for initiating a frisk, there are two matters to be considered: whether the officer had a sufficient degree of suspicion that the party frisked was armed and dangerous; and whether the officer was rightfully in the presence of the party frisked so as to be endangered if that person was armed.” LaFave, Search & Seizure § 9.4(a) (2d ed.1987). By concluding that the officer had sufficient articulable suspicion to make the investigatory stop, we also conclude that the officer was rightfully in the presence of the appellant, being the party frisked. Moreover, the United States Supreme Court stated in Terry v. Ohio, supra:
“ ‘ “The officer need not be absolutely certain that the individual is armed; the issue is whether a reasonably prudent man in the circumstances would be warranted in the belief that his safety or that of others was in danger. Cf. Beck v. Ohio, 379 U.S. 89, 91 [85 S.Ct. 223, 224, 13 L.Ed.2d 142] (1964); Brinegar v. United States, 338 U.S. 160, 174-176 [69 S.Ct. 1302, 1310-1311, 93 L.Ed. 1879] (1949); Stacey v. Emery, 97 U.S. 642, 645 [24 L.Ed. 1035] (1878). And in determining whether the officer acted reasonably in such circumstances, due weight must be given, not to his inchoate and unparticularized suspicion or ‘hunch,’ but to the specific reasonable inferences which he is entitled to draw from the facts in light of his experience. Cf. Brinegar v. United States supra.”
“ ‘392 U.S. at 27, 88 S.Ct. at 1883.
“ ‘ “We merely hold today that where a police officer observes unusual conduct which leads him reasonably to conclude in light of his experience that criminal activity may be afoot and that the persons with whom he is dealing may be armed and presently dangerous ... [1248]*1248he is entitled for the protection of himself and others in the area to conduct a carefully limited search of the outer clothing of such persons in an attempt to discover weapons which might be used to assault him.”
‘“Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. at 30, 88 S.Ct. at 1884.’
“State v. Richardson, 616 So.2d 400, 402-03 (Ala.Crim.App.1993).
“Here, Officer Drummer and other officers received a dispatch regarding an anonymous caller who reported that several young men were using illegal drugs on the porch of a residence in southwest Birmingham. The residence was in a high-crime area specifically known as an area where illegal drug activity took place; there had also been several recent burglaries in the area.

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Related

State v. Cheatwood
267 So. 3d 882 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 2018)
State v. Williams
249 So. 3d 527 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 2017)
State v. Moore
115 So. 3d 187 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 2012)
State v. O.R.J.
53 So. 3d 998 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 2010)
State v. Bailey
49 So. 3d 1245 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Alabama, 2010)

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Bluebook (online)
49 So. 3d 1245, 2010 Ala. Crim. App. LEXIS 32, 2010 WL 1740417, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-bailey-alacrimapp-2010.