State v. Briner

567 P.2d 35, 173 Mont. 185, 1977 Mont. LEXIS 657
CourtMontana Supreme Court
DecidedJuly 15, 1977
Docket13394
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 567 P.2d 35 (State v. Briner) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Montana 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. Briner, 567 P.2d 35, 173 Mont. 185, 1977 Mont. LEXIS 657 (Mo. 1977).

Opinions

MR. CHIEF JUSTICE HATFIELD

delivered the opinion of the Court.

Defendant Donald E. Briner was charged and convicted of burglary in the district court, Toole County. From the jury verdict and subsequent sentence of 8 years, with 6 years suspended, defendant seeks this Court’s review of four issues:

1) Whether the district court erred in denying defendant’s various motions to suppress and dismiss.

2) Whether the testimony of the accomplice had the sufficient independent corroboration required by section 95-3012, R.C.M. 1947.

3) Whether the Information filed against defendant was sufficient to inform defendant of the nature of the charges against him.

4) Whether the district court erred in failing to grant defend[187]*187ant’s motion for a new trial based upon newly discovered evidence.

The charges against defendant Briner arose in Sunburst, Montana from the burglary of the Farmers Co-op Oil Co. between the hours of 6:15 p. m., July 11, 1975 and 6:45 a.m., July 12, 1975. Three individuals were charged with the burglary — Donald E. Briner, George Cain, and William Felton.

Briner and co-defendants were stopped on July 13, 1975 outside Shelby, Montana by deputies possessing this information: (1) Three hours prior to defendant’s arrest, sheriff deputies responded to a burglary in progress at the Co-op in Devon, Montana; (2) on reaching Devon a highway patrolman observed the pickup defendant was later driving when arrested; (3) this pickup had left the vicinity by the time the deputies reached the Devon Coop; (4) at the Co-op the phone lines were cut, a window broken, and a door left open; (5) the deputies observed footprints leading from the Co-op to and across a creek in the direction where the pickup had been parked. The footprints were similar to those found at the Sunburst Co-op the previous evening. The tire tracks observed at both Co-ops were similar; and (6) the deputies had information the pickup defendant was driving was equipped with a radio scanner tuned to police frequencies.

On July 13, 1975 upon stopping the Briner vehicle, the deputies examined the pickup tires and determined they were similar in design to the tracks found at the Devon and Sunburst Co-ops. Deputies also observed defendant’s and Cain’s pant legs were wet; that a pair of wet waffle stomper boots was on the pickup’s floorboard; and that a radio scanner was present. Arrest was made without a warrant, the pickup was seized.

On the same day a search warrant was issued to search the vehicle defendant was driving. This warrant was returned on the same day, together with the waffle stompers and gloves. Later, on July 25, 1975, deputies removed the vehicle’s radio scanner and on July 26, 1975, the vehicle’s tires.

The defendant was charged by Information on September 4, [188]*1881975 with the burglary of the Farmers Co-op Oil Company of Sunburst, Montana, “op or about July 12, 1975”.

Evidence presented to the jury showed:

1) Footprints from waffle stampers were found inside and outside the Co-op after the burglary; defendant owned a pair of waffle stompers which was in his pickup at the time of his arrest; expert opinion found the prints to be made by boots with a similar tread design and wear pattern as those of defendant.

2) The vehicle defendant was driving was seen parked on the Interstate highway ramp overlooking the Co-op during the early morning hours after the night of the burglary; fresh tire tracks were found at the Co-op; expert opinion found the tire tracks and the tires from the pickup defendant was driving to be of similar tire design and tread wear.

3) Defendant’s vehicle was equipped with a radio scanner tuned to the major law enforcement frequencies.

4) An accomplice of defendant testified to the participation of defendant in the burglary.

From this evidence the jury convicted defendant of burglary.

On the first day of trial, after the jury had been voir dired and passed for cause by the county attorney, the attorney for defendant attempted to file various motions to suppress evidence and to dismiss. The district court recessed and took testimony and argument on the motions; later it denied all motions. From that denial defendant raises his first issue on appeal.

Counsel for defendant argues it is his client’s constitutional right to use the exclusionary rule at any time. In State v. Dess, 154 Mont. 231, 235, 462 P.2d 186, 189, this Court reviewed the exclusionary rule:

“The exclusionary rule fashioned in Weeks v. United States, 232 U.S. 383, 34 S.Ct. 341, 58 L.Ed. 652 (1914), and Mapp v. Ohio, 367 U.S. 643, 81 S.Ct. 1684, 6 L.Ed.2d 1081 (1961) excludes from a criminal trial any evidence seized from the defendant in violation of his 4th Amendment rights. In Mapp and [189]*189Weeks the defendant against whom the evidence was held to be inadmissible was the victim of the search. In the recent case of Alderman v. United States, 394 U.S. 165, 89 S.Ct. 961, 22 L.Ed. 2d 176 (1969) the Supreme Court rejected any expansion of the 4th Amendment and the exclusionary rule to include those who are aggrieved solely by the introduction of damaging evidence, or those whose rights were not violated by the search itself.

In a recent case the United States Supreme Court reiterated that the exclusionary rule was not a personal constitutional right of the aggrieved party and again rejected the fourth and most critical justification for the exclusionary rule enunciated in Mapp. In United States v. Janis, 428 U.S. 433, 96 S.Ct. 3021, 49 L.Ed.2d 1046, 1056, the Court said:

“The debate within the court on the exclusionary rule has always been a warm one. * * * The Court, however, has established that the ‘prime purpose’ of the rule, if not the sole one, ‘is to deter future unlawful police conduct.’ [Cited cases omitted]

“Thus

‘[I]n sum, the rule is a judicially created remedy designed to safeguard Fourth Amendment rights generally through its deterrent effect, rather than a personal constitutional right of the party aggrieved.’ United States v. Calandra, 414 U.S. 338, at 348, 94 S.Ct. 613, 38 L.Ed.2d 561, 66 Ohio Ops.2d 320.” 428 U.S. 446, 96 S.Ct. 3028, 49 L.Ed.2d 1056.

The question of “timeliness” is well defined in Montana. Section 95-1806, R.C.M.1947, sets forth the procedure for filing motions to suppress evidence illegally seized and provides in part:

“(a) A defendant aggrieved by an unlawful search and seizure may move the court to suppress as evidence anything so obtained.

“(b) The motion shall be made before trial unless for good cause shown the court shall otherwise direct.

“(c) The defendant shall give at least ten (10) days’ notice of [190]*190such motion to the attorney prosecuting or such other time as the court may direct.

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State v. Briner
567 P.2d 35 (Montana Supreme Court, 1977)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
567 P.2d 35, 173 Mont. 185, 1977 Mont. LEXIS 657, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-briner-mont-1977.