State v. Brown

206 P.3d 1180, 228 Or. App. 197, 2009 Ore. App. LEXIS 326
Court of Appeals of Oregon·Decided April 29, 2009·No. C060902CR; A133625·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

*199 ORTEGA, J.

The state appeals from a pretrial-order suppressing evidence obtained from the warrantless search and seizure of two bags left in a hotel room. Because we conclude that defendant had not abandoned her privacy interests in the bags, we affirm the order of suppression.

The basic facts are undisputed. A hotel clerk suspected credit card fraud and called the police after a man and a woman checked into a room. The clerk reported that the room was rented under the name of the man, Tawny Biel, but the credit card used to rent the room was under the name Katrina Ivanoff.

Officer Pfaff and a second officer responded. When Pfaff knocked on the door of the hotel room, a woman opened it. Through the doorway, Pfaff saw three people on the bed and a methamphetamine pipe with residue on the floor. She asked if anyone there had rented the room, and they all said no. Biel was not there, and no one present claimed to be Katrina Ivanoff. Defendant was present, but she had no identification. Although defendant’s name is Sheena Brown, she told Pfaff that her name was Stephanie Hageman.

The hotel manager determined that the people in the room were not registered guests and, therefore, were not authorized to be there. The manager wanted them to leave.

Pfaff asked if anyone present had personal property in the room. One man claimed some shoes and a cell phone. A woman claimed ownership of a purse, which Pfaff requested and obtained consent to search. When defendant was asked if she had any belongings in the room, she claimed only a pair of flip-flops. Defendant specifically denied owning a Laucóme bag, which was next to her flip-flops, and a Nike bag. Pfaff did not look in either bag at that time.

Before the occupants of the room departed, Pfaff asked if the bags belonged to anyone, stating that the room would be locked and that, “if they needed anything from the room, they should take it.” When everyone left, the hotel manager locked the room with the bags inside.

*200 Later that day, Biel and a companion went to the hotel office so that Biel could get into the room. After being informed of Biel’s return, Pfaff contacted him. Biel told Pfaff that he had rented the room and provided identification because “Sheena,” who had checked into the hotel with him, had no identification. Biel also said that “Sheena” had paid for the room with a credit card.

When Pfaff asked Biel if anything in the room belonged to him, he claimed only a duffel bag and denied ownership of the Lancome and Nike bags. Pfaff asked for consent to search the room, and Biel replied, “You can search whatever you want.” After searching Biel’s bag, Pfaff began to look in the Lancome bag. As she began that search, Biel stated that the bag belonged to “Sheena.” Biel’s companion gave Sheena’s full name as Sheena Brown.

Pfaff continued searching the bag and found a wallet containing defendant’s picture and that of an unidentified male. She also found a Visa card in the name of Katrina Ivanoff, as well as notebook paper containing “profile” information such as “names, dates of birth, driver’s license numbers, social security numbers, Visa numbers.” Believing that she had discovered evidence of identity theft, Pfaff seized the bags. More evidence was discovered in the bags later. The state did not obtain a warrant to search or seize the bags.

Defendant was indicted on 22 counts of identity theft and moved to suppress the evidence obtained as a result of searching the Lancome and Nike bags. She contended that the search and seizure of the bags violated her rights under Article I, section 9, of the Oregon Constitution. The state opposed the motion, arguing that defendant had abandoned any protected privacy or possessory interests in the bags. Specifically, the state contended that, by disclaiming ownership of the bags and leaving the hotel room without them, defendant had “voluntarily relinquished possession of the two bags” and “unequivocally abandoned any protected privacy or possessory interest.”

The trial court granted defendant’s motion to suppress. In a letter opinion, the court explained that it was “not convinced based on the totality of circumstances in this case *201 that the defendant demonstrated an intent to permanently relinquish possession of the items at issue or the privacy interests that accompanied the right to possess them.” The state appeals from the order granting defendant’s motion.

The state concedes that defendant had a protected interest in the bags that she could assert in a motion to suppress and that Biel’s consent to a search of the hotel room was insufficient to justify a search of defendant’s bags. The state argues, however, that defendant abandoned her privacy and possessory interests in the bags. In the state’s view, “[w]here a defendant affirmatively and repeatedly disclaims ownership of an item after being asked if it is hers, a police officer acts reasonably by taking her at her word and searching it.”

Defendant responds that her statements and conduct did not demonstrate abandonment of her bags. She contends that, because Pfaff indicated that unclaimed property would be left locked in the hotel room, the facts that defendant denied ownership of the bags and left them in the room did not show that defendant intended to permanently relinquish her interests in the bags. We agree with defendant.

Article I, section 9, provides, in part, that “[n]o law shall violate the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable search or seizure[.]” The provision safeguards both possessory and privacy interests in property against unreasonable searches and seizures. State v. Owens, 302 Or 196, 206, 729 P2d 524 (1986). The state has the burden of proving that the warrantless search and seizure did not violate an interest protected by Article I, section 9. See State v. Tucker, 330 Or 85, 88-89, 997 P2d 182 (2000).

If “a person gives up all rights to control the disposition of property, that person also gives up his or her privacy interest in the property in the same way that he or she would if the property had been abandoned.” State v. Howard / Dawson, 342 Or 635, 642-43, 157 P3d 1189 (2007) (citation omitted) (concluding that, when the defendants turned their garbage over to a sanitation company without any restriction on the disposition of the garbage, they effectively abandoned that property). In determining whether a defendant has *202 given up interests in property, we consider whether the defendant’s statements and conduct demonstrated a relinquishment of all constitutionally protected interest in the property. State v. Cook, 332 Or 601, 608, 34 P3d 156 (2001).

Disclaiming ownership of property does not necessarily demonstrate an intent to permanently relinquish all interests in the property. For example, in Cook, police officers were investigating a report of thefts from parked vehicles when they saw the defendant in a semi-enclosed area next to a dumpster, sorting clothing into a duffel bag.

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State v. Brown, 206 P.3d 1180, 228 Or. App. 197, 2009 Ore. App. LEXIS 326 (Or. Ct. App. 2009).

206 P.3d 1180 (State v. Brown) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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