State v. Bainbridge

787 P.2d 231, 117 Idaho 245, 1990 Ida. LEXIS 14
CourtIdaho Supreme Court
DecidedFebruary 5, 1990
Docket16808
StatusPublished
Cited by44 cases

This text of 787 P.2d 231 (State v. Bainbridge) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Bainbridge, 787 P.2d 231, 117 Idaho 245, 1990 Ida. LEXIS 14 (Idaho 1990).

Opinions

McDEVITT, Justice.

This is a rehearing of an appeal brought by Randall Bainbridge from his conviction for first degree murder following a retrial of the case pursuant to State v. Bainbridge, 108 Idaho 273, 698 P.2d 335 (1985). In State v. Bainbridge, id., this Court reversed the first conviction and remanded for a new trial with instructions concerning hypnotically refreshed testimony.

The facts of this case are set forth in State v. Bainbridge, id., and State v. Sivak, 112 Idaho 197, 731 P.2d 192 (1986). In summary, Bainbridge and Sivak were convicted of the murder of a service station attendant, Dixie Wilson. Sivak was sentenced to death. Bainbridge received a fixed life sentence.

I. FOURTH AMENDMENT SEIZURES

Bainbridge claims that statements he made to police officers, in the Barrister Station interrogation' room, should have been suppressed because they were made pursuant to an illegal seizure that violated his rights under Article I, § 17 of the Idaho Constitution, and the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, made applicable to the individual states through the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

When reviewing “seizure” issues, we defer to the trial court’s factual findings, unless they are clearly erroneous. We freely review, de novo, the trial court’s legal determination of whether or not an illegal seizure occurred. United States Constitution, Amendment IV; State v. Heinen, 114 Idaho 656, 759 P.2d 947 (1988). Since Bainbridge is contesting the legality of the seizure, we will review this issue de novo.

The Fourth Amendment is virtually identical to Article 1, § 17 of the Idaho Constitution which reads:

§ 17. Unreasonable searches and seizures prohibited. — 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.

In this case, where no warrant was issued, the proper analysis for determining whether there has been an illegal seizure is to determine:

A. Whether the police conduct in question does, in fact constitute a seizure, and if it does;
B. Whether the seizure falls within one of the recognized exceptions to the warrant requirement. See Dunaway v. New York, 442 U.S. 200, 99 S.Ct. 2248, 60 L.Ed.2d 824 (1979); State v. Johnson, 110 Idaho 516, 716 P.2d 1288 (1986).
C. Once it has been determined that there is a constitutionally prohibited seizure, evidence or information acquired as a result of the seizure will be excluded unless the causal connection between the seizure and the acquisition has been broken. Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471, 83 S.Ct. 407, 9 L.Ed.2d 441 (1963); United States v. Mendenhall, 446 U.S. 544, 100 S.Ct. 1870, 64 L.Ed.2d 497 reh. denied 448 U.S. 908, 100 S.Ct. 3051, 65 L.Ed.2d 1138 (1980); Florida v. Royer, 460 U.S. 491, 103 S.Ct. 1319, 75 L.Ed.2d 229 (1983).

A. WHETHER THE POLICE SEIZED BAINBRIDGE

The State argues that this Court’s decision in Bainbridge 1 (that Bainbridge spoke to the police voluntarily) precludes any possible Fourth Amendment violation.

United States Supreme Court decisions hold that a seizure occurs “only if, in view of all of the circumstances surrounding the incident, a reasonable person would have believed that he was not free to leave.” United States v. Mendenhall, 446 U.S. 544, 554, 100 S.Ct. 1870, 1877, 64 L.Ed.2d 497 (1980); See also, Florida v. Royer, 460 [248]*248U.S. 491, 502, 103 S.Ct. 1319, 1326, 75 L.Ed.2d 229 (1983); Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968); Dunaway v. New York, 442 U.S. 200, 99 S.Ct. 2248, 60 L.Ed.2d 824 (1979).

The purpose of the Fourth Amendment and Article 1, § 17 of the Idaho Constitution is to protect a person’s legitimate expectation of privacy. See State v. Johnson, 110 Idaho 516, 716 P.2d 1288 (1986).

Upon making contact with Bainbridge, the officers promptly informed him of his Miranda rights. He stated that he did not want to talk to them until he had an opportunity to consult with his parole officer, but that he did not have a phone. One of the officers “suggested” that the three of them drive to the station house and make the call.

The record is clear that while they were in Bainbridge’s house, the officers controlled all ingress and egress. One of the officers followed Bainbridge’s spouse into the kitchen and controlled access to the rear door. The other stationed himself next to the front door in the living room where Bainbridge was located.

At this point no reasonable person would have thought they were free to leave. The officers’ “suggestion” not only reflected a desire for immediate action, but it directed the course of action to be taken. The fact that Bainbridge’s spouse told him he did not have to go is inconsequential. She was not the one being taken. She was not in his position.

Shortly after the officers and Bainbridge got into the car, they informed him that they were not going to take him to the Garden City station, but were taking him to the Barrister Station. They did not seek his approval and they did not inform him that he could refuse to go. At this point, Bainbridge was clearly seized and in police custody. The officers had Bainbridge in the squad car and were making unilateral decisions about where they were taking him.

When they arrived at the Barrister Station, the officers immediately took Bainbridge to an interrogation room. One of the officers left to call the parole officer for Bainbridge. The other stayed in the interrogation room. He informed Bainbridge of his Miranda rights and asked him questions. Bainbridge said that he wanted to talk to his parole officer. The detectives gave him a form explaining his Miranda Rights. He signed the waiver portion of that form. The officer continued to ask him questions to which Bainbridge responded. There can be no doubt that Bainbridge’s “seizure” was dramatically intensified in the Barrister Station. No reasonable person would feel free to leave under those circumstances.

In Justice White’s dissent to the majority opinion in U.S. v. Mendenhall, joined by Brennan, Marshall and Stevens, he wrote:

Whatever doubt there may be concerning whether Ms. Mendenhall’s Fourth Amendment interests were implicated during the initial stages of her confrontation with the DEA agents, she undoubtedly was “seized” within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment when the agents escorted her from the public area of the terminal to the DEA office for questioning and a strip-search of her person. In

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
787 P.2d 231, 117 Idaho 245, 1990 Ida. LEXIS 14, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-bainbridge-idaho-1990.