State v. Bridges

925 P.2d 357, 83 Haw. 187
CourtHawaii Supreme Court
DecidedOctober 7, 1996
Docket16800, 16752 and 16799
StatusPublished
Cited by26 cases

This text of 925 P.2d 357 (State v. Bridges) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Hawaii 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. Bridges, 925 P.2d 357, 83 Haw. 187 (haw 1996).

Opinion

KLEIN, Justice.

We have consolidated the appeals of Defendants-Appellees Fred Douglas Bridges and Timothy Lamar Bradley. 1 Bridges and Bradley were indicted on charges of Promoting a Dangerous Drug in the First Degree (the promoting charge) and Criminal Conspiracy (to commit the offenses of Promoting a Dangerous Drug in the First Degree and Commercial Promotion of Marijuana in the Second Degree) (the conspiracy charge). Prior to trial, Bradley filed a motion to suppress evidence and a motion to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction. Bridges subsequently joined in both motions.

The circuit court granted both appellees’ motions to suppress evidence, granted Bradley’s motion to dismiss as to both counts of the indictment, granted Bridges’s motion to dismiss as to the promoting charge, and denied Bridges’s motion to dismiss as to the conspiracy charge. The State of Hawaii (the prosecution) appeals the granting of both appellees’ motions to suppress evidence and the granting of Bradley’s motion to dismiss as to the conspiracy charge. For the reasons set forth below, we reverse the order dismissing the conspiracy charge against Bradley, reverse the orders granting the ap-pellees’ motions to suppress evidence, and remand for further proceedings.

I. BACKGROUND

In November 1989, a Honolulu Police Department (HPD) narcotics team led by Detective David Brown and Officer Emilio La-ganse, following a tip from a confidential informant, met with the appellees in an undercover capacity to arrange a drug transaction that would involve heroin, cocaine, and/or marijuana. This initial meeting took place in the State of California, where both appellees resided. Between December 1989 and February 1990, the HPD agents made numerous telephone calls to the appellees in California regarding the transaction.

During one such conversation with Bradley on January 3,1990, Bradley indicated that he *189 wanted to continue the conversation from a different phone. The HPD agents told Bradley that he could call them back collect. Shortly thereafter, Bradley made a collect call from California to Hawaii to resume the conversation regarding the drug transaction. Bradley made no other calls to Hawaii and never set foot in Hawaii during the time period that the conspiracy allegedly took place.

In February 1990, the HPD paid for Bridges to fly to Honolulu to meet the ostensible heroin source 2 and to further discuss the proposed drug transaction with Detective Brown and Officer Laganse. During Bridges’s visit, the HPD agents agreed to provide heroin, marijuana, and cash to the appellees in exchange for cocaine. In addition, the HPD agents made a pre-payment of $1,000 for the cocaine that was to be later provided by the appellees. Finally, the HPD agents and Bridges agreed that the physical exchange of drugs would take place in California.

The HPD subsequently contacted the La Habra Police Department and the Los Ange-les Police Department to coordinate a “sting” operation. As part of the “sting,” Detective Brown and Officer Laganse invited the ap-pellees to Room 236 of the La Habra Best Western Inn on February 27, 1990, to complete the transaction. In preparation for the meeting, Laganse was fitted with a Nagra 3 recording device to record the conversations of the parties within Room 236. In addition, unbeknownst to either Bridges or Bradley, and without their consent, audio and audio-video monitoring equipment was installed in Room 236 by HPD agents.

Before installing the monitoring equipment, the HPD agents had asked the La Habra police to obtain an order from a California court authorizing the installation of the equipment. Detective Brown testified concerning the court order as follows:

Because we weren’t familiar with California law, we told them what we wanted to do and asked them their advice, because we didn’t know if it was legal within the State of California. They informed us that they did not need a Court Order in the State of California to install video equipment.
So I asked them if they would be willing to get a Court Order so we don’t—we don’t have any problems with the future in regards to installing an illegal video, or audio installation.

Although Detective Brown testified that the La Habra police in fact procured such an order, no court order was admitted into evidence. 4

When the appellees met with the HPD agents in Room 236, Detective Brown gave the appellees one pound of heroin and two pounds of marijuana in exchange for 10.6 grams of cocaine and a promise that more would be provided later. As arranged, the La Habra police thereafter stopped the ap-pellees’ vehicle in the Best Western parking lot and arrested the appellees.

The following items were obtained by either the HPD agents or the La Habra police after the appellees were arrested: the marijuana, heroin, and cocaine involved in the transaction; an audio recording from the Na-gra worn by Officer Laganse; an audio-video recording of the transaction; audio-video recordings of statements made by the appellees to the La Habra police after they were arrested; miscellaneous items recovered from the appellees when they were booked; and miscellaneous items recovered from a search of the appellees’ vehicle.

On October 22, 1991, an indictment was filed charging Bridges and Bradley with one count each of Promoting a Dangerous Drug in the First Degree, and one count each of Criminal Conspiracy (to commit the offenses of Promoting a Dangerous Drug in the First Degree and Commercial Promotion of Mari *190 juana in the Second Degree). The appellees were subsequently extradited from California to Hawaii. On August 20, 1992, Bradley filed a motion to dismiss the indictment for lack of jurisdiction and a motion to suppress evidence. On October 19,1992, Bridges filed notices of joinder in both of Bradley’s motions.

Following a hearing, the circuit court entered orders granting Bradley’s motion to dismiss the indictment, granting Bradley’s motion to suppress, granting in part (as to the promoting charge) and denying in part (as to the conspiracy charge) Bridges’s motion to dismiss the indictment, and granting Bridges’s motion to suppress.

Pursuant to Hawai'i Revised Statutes (HRS) § 641-13 (1998), the prosecution now appeals the orders granting the appellees’ motions to suppress and the portion of the order granting Bradley’s motion to dismiss as it applies to the conspiracy charge; the prosecution does not' challenge the dismissal of the promoting charges against either ap-pellee.

II. DISCUSSION

A. Jurisdiction over Bradley

In the instant case, the prosecution has charged the appellees with conspiracy based in large part upon conduct occurring outside the boundaries of our state. HRS § 701-106 (1993), which “delineates the scope of Hawai'i’s criminal jurisdiction,” State v.

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925 P.2d 357, 83 Haw. 187, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-bridges-haw-1996.