State v. Cook

777 N.E.2d 882, 149 Ohio App. 3d 422
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedSeptember 13, 2002
DocketC.A. Case No. 19061, T.C. Case No. 99-CR-1961.
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 777 N.E.2d 882 (State v. Cook) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio 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. Cook, 777 N.E.2d 882, 149 Ohio App. 3d 422 (Ohio Ct. App. 2002).

Opinion

Brogan, Judge.

{¶ 1} The defendant in this case, Brian Cook, appeals from his conviction on 20 counts of possessing or viewing material showing a minor in a state of nudity. Cook was sentenced to an 11-month term of imprisonment on each count, to be served concurrently. He was also designated a sexual predator.

{¶ 2} On appeal, Cook raises three assignments of error, contesting (1) the search of his residence, (2) admission of materials generated from a “mirror image” made of the hard drive of his computer, and (3) his classification as a sexual predator. Upon consideration, we find that none of the assignments of error has merit. Accordingly, the trial court judgment will be affirmed. A brief discussion of our decision follows.

I

{¶ 3} As we said, the first assignment óf error involves the issue of probable cause for a search of Cook’s residence. In this regard, Cook contends that where probable cause for a search warrant is based in part on a prior warrantless search and seizure of personal property by a private citizen, at the instigation of the police, the evidence seized as a result of the search must be suppressed. Cook presented this issue at a suppression hearing as well as at trial. However, the trial court overruled the suppression motion and found that the search warrant was properly issued.

{¶ 4} The search warrant in this case was issued as the result of a tip to the police by Brian Brown, who was Cook’s brother-in-law. The facts leading to the tip are as follows. On April 19, 1999, Brown, his wife, and son came to Cook’s residence to stay for a few days. Brown and his family needed a temporary place to live, so Michelle Cook (Brown’s sister and Brian Cook’s wife) agreed to let the Browns come to her house. At the time, Brian Cook was out of state at a computer training seminar.

{¶ 5} On April 20, 1999, Brown was using the Cook’s computer and happened upon a folder of pornographic pictures of children. There were about 4,000 pictures in the folder. Brown was very upset and called the Dayton Police Department to find out whether possession of such pictures was a crime. Because the Cook residence was in Kettering, Ohio, Brown was referred to the Kettering Police Department. Brown then copied pictures from the hard drive onto two diskettes, and took them to the Kettering Police.

*425 {¶ 6} Officer Atkinson took a statement from Brown and placed the diskettes in a locker in the property room. The following day, Detective Green viewed the photos and contacted Brown. At that time, Brown told Green that he was staying at his brother-in-law’s home at 2525 California Avenue in Kettering and that he had been using his brother-in-law’s computer. Green then began to prepare a search warrant. Green drove by the California address to get a description of the house for the warrant. However, Green also felt he needed to confirm the fact that Brian Cook lived at the address. As a result, Green called Brown and asked him to bring in a piece of mail bearing Cook’s name. After Brown did so, Green took the search warrant to a judge in Kettering Municipal Court.

{¶ 7} The warrant was served on April 22, 1999, when Brian Cook was still out of town. At that time, the police seized various items, including diskettes, several central processing units (“CPUs”), a keyboard, and a monitor. The hard drive of one CPU contained over 14,000 pornographic pictures. Consequently, Brian Cook was indicted for possession and reproduction of the pictures.

{¶ 8} Cook contends that the evidence should have been suppressed because Brown wrongfully conducted a search at the state’s instigation to obtain probable cause for the search warrant. Cook further claims that the officers omitted pertinent facts from the affidavit for the search warrant, because they failed to tell the magistrate that a private citizen had performed a search and seizure in a private residence at their request. The trial court rejected this argument because the implication from Brown’s testimony was that the mail in the residence was out in the open.

{¶ 9} “When we review suppression decisions, we do not evaluate credibility. Instead, we decide if the trial court properly applied the law. * * * Therefore, we ‘accept the trial court’s findings of fact if they are supported by competent, credible evidence. Accepting those facts as true, we must independently determine as a matter of law, without deference to the trial court’s conclusion, whether they meet the applicable legal standard.’ ” State v. Woods, Montgomery App. No. 19005, 2002-Ohio-2355, 2002 WL 1000619, ¶ 14, quoting State v. Retherford (1994), 93 Ohio App.3d 586, 592, 639 N.E.2d 498.

{¶ 10} Ohio courts have held for many years that “[t]he constitutional right against unreasonable searches and seizures applies only to actions by the government and its officers and not to acts of private individuals.” State v. McDaniel (1975), 44 Ohio App.2d 163, 73 O.O.2d 189, 337 N.E.2d 173. As a result, even if a private person conducts an illegal search, the evidence will not be barred by the exclusionary rule. Id. at 171-172, 73 O.O.2d 189, 337 N.E.2d 173.

*426 {¶ 11} If a private party acts as a government agent, the protection against unlawful searches and seizures may apply. See, e.g., State v. Morris (1975), 42 Ohio St.2d 307, 316, 71 O.O.2d 294, 329 N.E.2d 85, citing Burdeau v. McDowell (1921), 256 U.S. 465, 41 S.Ct. 574, 65 L.Ed. 1048. “The test of government participation is whether, in light of all the circumstances, the private person ‘acted as an “instrument” or agent of the state.’ Coolidge v. New Hampshire (1971), 403 U.S. 443, 487, 91 S.Ct. 2022, 29 L.Ed.2d 564, overruled in part on other grounds by Horton v. California (1990), 496 U.S. 128, 110 S.Ct. 2301, 110 L.Ed.2d 112. ‘ “The cases in this area require a great deal of entanglement between the police and the private searcher before agency can be found.” ’ State v. Byerly (Aug. 21, 1998), Portage App. No. 97-P-0034, unreported, 1998 WL 637689, quoting State v. Glavic (Mar. 27, 1998), Lake App. No. 96-L-135, unreported, 1998 WL 156860.” State v. Jedd (2001), 146 Ohio App.3d 167, 172, 765 N.E.2d 880.

{¶ 12} In the present case, Brian Brown made two “searches and seizures.” The first, which is not contested, consisted of copying or downloading photos onto two diskettes, which were then taken to the police department. Brown was clearly not acting as a state agent at the time, since the police were not even aware of any alleged crime. Compare State v. Villagomez (1974), 44 Ohio App.2d 209, 216, 73 O.O.2d 215,

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Bluebook (online)
777 N.E.2d 882, 149 Ohio App. 3d 422, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-cook-ohioctapp-2002.