State v. Barnthouse

380 P.3d 952, 360 Or. 403, 2016 Ore. LEXIS 623, 2016 WL 5846492
CourtOregon Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 6, 2016
DocketCC 120431515; CA A153361; SC S063426
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 380 P.3d 952 (State v. Barnthouse) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Oregon 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. Barnthouse, 380 P.3d 952, 360 Or. 403, 2016 Ore. LEXIS 623, 2016 WL 5846492 (Or. 2016).

Opinion

BREWER, J.

The decision of the Court of Appeals and the judgment of the circuit court are affirmed.

*405 BREWER, J.

The issue on review in this case is whether police officers’ handling of an express mail package violated the rights of defendant — the package’s addressee — to be free from an unreasonable seizure of the package under Article I, section 9, of the Oregon Constitution, and the Fourth Amendment to the United Sates Constitution. As explained below, we conclude that the officers’ actions violated Article I, section 9, and that defendant is entitled to suppression of the evidence discovered as a result of the seizure.

I. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

The pertinent facts are undisputed. Inter-agency drug interdiction teams comprising United States Postal Service (USPS) inspectors and local police officers routinely examine in-transit mail at USPS mail sorting centers, looking for packages that might contain contraband. One such team, made up of Postal Inspector Helton and Portland Police Bureau officers Castaneda and Groshong, was deployed to examine packages at a USPS air cargo center near the Portland International Airport early in the morning of February 22, 2012.

The sorting process for mail arriving at that facility began, as in the normal course, sometime before 6:00 a.m. Officer Castaneda oversaw the routine sorting of mail into bins. Castaneda noticed an Express Mail package addressed to “Maxi-pad Barnt” at defendant’s Portland residence, which had a guaranteed delivery time of noon that day; he picked it up to examine it. Several aspects of the package drew his attention. In addition to the addressee’s apparently fictitious name, the package showed that it had been mailed from the 19711 zip code (Newark, Delaware), but had a return address of 19810 (Wilmington, Delaware). Further, the package was sent from a state where the use and sale of marijuana are illegal, the sender had paid cash for the postage, a box for waiving signature upon delivery had been checked, no phone number had been listed for either the sender or the recipient, and the addresses were handwritten rather than typed. Together, those factors indicated to Castaneda that the package might contain contraband.

*406 Castaneda showed the package to Inspector Helton, who agreed that the package looked suspicious. Helton then placed the package a few feet away, on a dog deployment line, in preparation for a dog sniff. The package was placed in the line with six other parcels of approximately the same size and shape, separated from one another by a couple of feet. Officer Groshong, the narcotics K-9 handler for the interdiction team, then came from around a corner with a dog, who alerted to the presence of contraband in the package.

After the dog alerted to the package, Castaneda, as he later testified, “took custody of the parcel,” taking it from Groshong’s hands and giving it to Helton for further investigation. Helton placed the package on a cart designated for mail that the dog had identified and conducted computer searches on the sender and addressee. Those searches did not disclose that either the sender’s or the recipient’s address was associated with criminal activity. Nonetheless, the interdiction team decided to contact the addressee and try to obtain consent to search the package. They did not attempt to obtain a search warrant. 1 Castaneda testified that, even if the dog had not alerted to the package, the team would have segregated the package in an identical manner for further investigation and, ultimately, would have taken the package to the addressee to attempt to obtain consent to open it and examine its contents. That is, Castaneda clarified, if the dog had not alerted to the package, nothing about the investigation would have changed.

At about 9:30 that morning, Helton, Castaneda, and another Portland police officer, Francas, took the package to defendant’s residence. When they arrived, they knocked on the front door. Two people answered. Castaneda identified himself as a Portland police officer and asked if either person was expecting a package. When they responded that they were not, Castaneda showed them the package addressed to “Maxi-pad Barnt.” They laughed and said that the package must be for defendant, their housemate, who was not there. Castaneda obtained defendant’s full name and phone number from them and called him. When defendant answered, *407 Castaneda told defendant that he was a police officer and asked to whom he was speaking. Defendant identified himself. Castaneda explained to defendant that he was not under arrest but that Castaneda was investigating a suspicious package addressed to a person with a similar name at defendant’s residence. Defendant told Castaneda that he was not expecting a package and that he did not recognize the sender’s name. Castaneda then asked defendant for consent to open the package and examine its contents. Castaneda explained that defendant could refuse consent, but that, if he refused, the officers would apply for a search warrant. Defendant hesitated but ultimately gave Castaneda consent.

While Castaneda remained on the phone with defendant, Francas opened the package and found a yellow shirt wrapped around several stacks of United States currency. When Castaneda told defendant that there was currency in the package, defendant responded that it was not his, that he was not expecting any money, and that there was no reason for anyone to send him money through the mail. Castaneda then informed defendant that he was continuing his investigation. 2 Castaneda asked defendant for consent to search his bedroom for evidence of narcotics distribution or money laundering. When defendant hesitated, Castaneda again explained that defendant had the right to refuse but, if he did, the officers would apply for a warrant to search the residence. Castaneda reassured defendant that he was not under arrest. Defendant seemed to Castaneda to become very nervous, but he consented to a search of his room. Castaneda gave defendant his contact information and then terminated the phone call.

The search of defendant’s room revealed, among other things, a large quantity of marijuana, as well as packaging materials, a vacuum sealer, unused postal boxes, packaging tape, and wrappers designed to hold bundles of money. Following those discoveries, defendant was charged with unlawful possession of marijuana and delivery of marijuana for consideration.

*408 Before trial, defendant moved to suppress the evidence discovered in the searches of the package and his bedroom. Defendant argued that, under both Article I, section 9, and the Fourth Amendment, the officers had unlawfully seized the package without probable cause or having obtained a warrant, and that the officers had exploited that illegality in obtaining his consent to the searches. In particular, defendant asserted that he had a constitutionally protected possessory interest in the package while it was in the stream of mail.

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State v. Barnthouse
Oregon Supreme Court, 2016

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
380 P.3d 952, 360 Or. 403, 2016 Ore. LEXIS 623, 2016 WL 5846492, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-barnthouse-or-2016.