State v. Brian Ellis Neal

367 P.3d 1231, 159 Idaho 919, 2016 Ida. App. LEXIS 27
CourtIdaho Court of Appeals
DecidedFebruary 25, 2016
Docket42806
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 367 P.3d 1231 (State v. Brian Ellis Neal) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Idaho 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. Brian Ellis Neal, 367 P.3d 1231, 159 Idaho 919, 2016 Ida. App. LEXIS 27 (Idaho Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

GRATTON, Judge.

The State of Idaho appeals from the district court’s order granting Brian Ellis Neal’s motion to suppress. We affirm.

I.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On April 24, 2014, at 12:30 a.m., Neal was stopped for failing to signal when merging, failing to signal a lane change, and for window tinting darker than allowed by law. Upon making contact with Neal, the officer advised Neal why he had been stopped and acquired his Washington driver’s license, vehicle registration, and proof of insurance. Neal’s insurance card was expired; however, Neal explained that his insurance was up-to-date and a new insurance card was in the mail. After the exchange, the officer noted that Neal was exhibiting signs of anxiousness and had a marijuana leaf symbol depicted on his shirt. The officer questioned Neal and then asked to search Neal’s vehicle which Neal refused. The officer informed Neal that he would be calling a K-9 unit and had Neal step out of his vehicle.

Twenty minutes later, the K-9 unit arrived and the dog quickly alerted to the odor of drugs in the vehicle. Neal’s vehicle was then searched without a warrant. The search yielded drug paraphernalia, two notepads with names and numbers, and $1,677.00 in cash was found in Neal’s wallet. The officer arrested Neal for possession of drug paraphernalia and transported him to jail. During the booking process, jail staff found a black sock in Neal’s underwear that contained a plastic baggy with two substances believed to be heroin and methamphetamine and pills identified as hydrocodone.

The State charged Neal with trafficking heroin and possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. Neal filed a motion to suppress the evidence, arguing that it was obtained through an unlawful search and seizure. After a hearing on the motion, the district court granted the motion, finding that Neal’s detention was unlawfully extended. The State filed a motion to reconsider and the district court denied the motion. The State timely appealed.

II.

ANALYSIS

On appeal, the State argues that the district court erred by granting Neal’s *922 motion to suppress. 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).

Although Neal contends that both constitutions were violated, he provides no cogent reason why Article I, Section 17 of the Idaho Constitution should be applied differently than the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution in this case. Therefore, the Court will rely on judicial interpretation of the Fourth Amendment in its analysis of Neal’s claims. See State v. Schaffer, 133 Idaho 126, 130, 982 P.2d 961, 965 (Ct.App. 1999).

The State challenges the district court’s conclusion that the officer unreasonably extended the length of the traffic stop to allow for the drug investigation and drug dog search. The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. Generally, evidence obtained as a result of an unreasonable search or seizure must be suppressed. Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471, 485, 83 S.Ct. 407, 416, 9 L.Ed.2d 441, 453-54 (1963). A traffic stop by an officer constitutes a seizure of the vehicle’s occupants and implicates the Fourth Amendment’s prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures. Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648, 653, 99 S.Ct. 1391, 1395-96, 59 L.Ed.2d 660, 667 (1979); Atkinson, 128 Idaho at 561, 916 P.2d at 1286. The State may overcome this presumption by demonstrating that a warrantless search either fell within a well-recognized exception to the warrant requirement or was otherwise reasonable under the circumstances. State v. Weaver, 127 Idaho 288, 290, 900 P.2d 196, 198 (1995). Typically, seizures must be based on probable cause to be reasonable. Florida v. Royer, 460 U.S. 491, 499-500, 103 S.Ct. 1319, 1325-26, 75 L.Ed.2d 229, 237-38 (1983). The reasonableness of the suspicion must be evaluated upon the totality of the circumstances. State v. Ferreira, 133 Idaho 474, 483, 988 P.2d 700, 709 (Ct.App.1999). The reasonable suspicion standard requires less than probable cause but more than mere speculation or instinct on the part of the officer. Id.

The State asserts that the drug investigation was legal because the officer observed facts that reasonably led him to believe Neal was engaged in illegal drug activity. An officer may draw reasonable inferences from the facts in his or her possession, and those inferences may be drawn from the officer’s experience and law enforcement training. State v. Montague, 114 Idaho 319, 321, 756 P.2d 1083, 1085 (Ct.App. 1988). The determination of whether an investigative detention is reasonable requires a dual inquiry — whether the officer’s action was justified at its inception and whether it was reasonably related in scope to the circumstances which justified the interference in the first place. State v. Roe, 140 Idaho 176, 181, 90 P.3d 926, 931 (Ct.App.2004); State v. Parkinson, 135 Idaho 357, 361, 17 P.3d 301, 305 (Ct.App.2000). An investigative detention is permissible if it is based upon specific articulable facts which justify suspicion that the detained person is, has been, or is about to be engaged in criminal activity. State v. Sheldon, 139 Idaho 980, 983, 88 P.3d 1220, 1223 (Ct.App.2003). Such a detention must be temporary and last no longer than necessary to effectuate the purpose of the stop. Roe, 140 Idaho at 181, 90 P.3d at 931; State v. Gutierrez, 137 Idaho 647, 651, 51 P.3d 461, 465 (Ct.App.2002).

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Bluebook (online)
367 P.3d 1231, 159 Idaho 919, 2016 Ida. App. LEXIS 27, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-brian-ellis-neal-idahoctapp-2016.