State v. Delong

CourtOregon Supreme Court
DecidedJune 18, 2015
DocketS062176
StatusPublished

This text of State v. Delong (State v. Delong) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Oregon 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. Delong, (Or. 2015).

Opinion

No. 23 June 18, 2015 365

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF OREGON

STATE OF OREGON, Petitioner on Review, v. WILLIAM RICK DELONG, Respondent on Review. (CC 09CR1050FE; CA A146907; SC S062176)

En Banc On review from the Court of Appeals.* Argued and submitted October 8, 2014, at Bend Senior High School, Bend, Oregon. Michael A. Casper, Deputy Solicitor General, Salem, argued the cause and filed the brief for petitioner on review. With him on the brief were Ellen F. Rosenblum, Attorney General, and Anna M. Joyce, Solicitor General. Daniel C. Bennett, Deputy Public Defender, Salem, argued the cause and filed the brief for respondent on review. With him on the brief was Peter Gartlan, Chief Defender, Office of Public Defense Services. Shauna M. Curphy, Portland, filed the brief for amici curiae Oregon Justice Resource Center, Albina Ministerial Alliance Coalition for Justice and Police Reform, The Portland Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, Inc., and the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Oregon, Inc. With her on the brief were Sara F. Werboff and Jordan R. Silk. KISTLER, J. The decision of the Court of Appeals is reversed, and the case is remanded to the Court of Appeals for further pro- ceedings consistent with this decision. ______________ * Appeal from Douglas County Circuit Court, Joan G. Seitz, Judge. 260 Or App 718, 320 P3d 653 (2014). 366 State v. Delong

Brewer, J., concurred and filed an opinion. Walters, J., dissented and filed an opinion in which Baldwin, J., joined. Baldwin, J., dissented and filed an opinion in which Walters, J., joined.

Case Summary: During a traffic stop, a deputy sheriff placed handcuffed defendant, placed him in a police car, and asked him if “there was anything that we should be concerned about” in his car without first giving defendant a Miranda warning. Defendant responded, “ ‘No,’ and that if [the deputies] wanted to search the vehicle [they] could.” The search resulted in the discovery of methamphet- amine and drug paraphernalia and, after the deputies read defendant a Miranda warning, defendant gave incriminating statements. Defendant moved to sup- press the physical evidence during the search and the statements that he later made on the ground that that evidence was the product of the earlier Miranda violation. The trial court denied the motion. The Court of Appeals reversed. Held: (1) voluntary consent to search can attenuate the taint of failing to give a Miranda warning in violation of Article I, section 12, of the Oregon Constitution; (2) in determining whether an invitation to search breaks the causal connection between a Miranda violation and subsequently obtained physical evidence, the nature of the illegality, the character of the consent, and the causal relationship between the two will bear on whether the physical evidence is attenuated from the violation. The decision of the Court of Appeals is reversed, and the case is remanded to the Court of Appeals for further proceedings consistent with this decision. Cite as 357 Or 365 (2015) 367

KISTLER, J. During a traffic stop, a deputy sheriff placed defen- dant in custody and then asked him, without first advis- ing him of his Miranda rights, “if there was anything we should be concerned about” in his car. Defendant “told [the deputy] ‘no,’ and that if we wanted to search the vehicle, we could.” On appeal, the state conceded that the deputy vio- lated Article I, section 12, of the Oregon Constitution when he asked defendant that question without first advising him of his Miranda rights. The state argued, however, that the physical evidence that the deputies later found in defendant’s car did not “derive from” the Miranda violation. The Court of Appeals disagreed. State v. Delong, 260 Or App 718, 320 P3d 653 (2014). Relying on State v. Vondehn, 348 Or 462, 236 P3d 691 (2010), the Court of Appeals reasoned that both defendant’s offer and the resulting evidence derived from the violation. Having allowed the state’s petition for review, we reverse the Court of Appeals decision and remand this case to the Court of Appeals. Sergeant Robeson worked for the Douglas County Sheriff’s office.1 One evening, while Robeson was on patrol, defendant’s car pulled out in front of Robeson. Apparently noticing Robeson’s marked patrol car behind him, defendant “immediately pulled off” into a store parking lot. Robeson continued driving, went around the corner, and pulled over to the side of the road to see if defendant would resume driving once Robeson passed by. “[A] few seconds later,” defendant drove past Robeson. In doing so, defendant con- firmed Robeson’s suspicion that he had been trying to avoid Robeson, and he also gave Robeson the opportunity to see that he was not wearing a seat belt. Robeson stopped defendant for that traffic violation. See ORS 811.210 (requiring that drivers wear seat belts). He approached defendant’s car and asked him for his driver’s license, registration, and proof of insurance. Defendant gave Robeson his name but could not produce a driver’s license or other picture identification. Driving without a license is a traffic offense; however, it is a defense to that charge 1 We take the facts from the hearing on defendant’s suppression motion and state them consistently with the trial court’s ruling. 368 State v. Delong

that the driver in fact had a valid license. See ORS 807.570. Robeson sought to determine defendant’s identity so that he could see if defendant in fact had a valid license. Robeson also wanted to identify defendant to see if there were a rea- son why defendant apparently had sought to avoid him; spe- cifically, Robeson wanted to see if there were an outstanding warrant for defendant’s arrest. There was a passenger in defendant’s car, and Robeson removed defendant from his car, frisked and hand- cuffed him, and put him in the backseat of the patrol car before asking him some background questions to verify his identity.2 At that point, Robeson had not advised defendant of his Miranda rights. After asking some questions regard- ing defendant’s identity, Robeson asked defendant “if there was anything we should be concerned about” in his car.3 In response to that question, defendant “told [Robeson] ‘no,’ and that if we wanted to search the vehicle, we could.”4 Robeson relayed that response to another deputy, who had arrived at the traffic stop. The second deputy searched defendant’s car and found what appeared to be marijuana residue in an ashtray underneath the driver’s seat. He then opened a canvas fanny pack that was inside the car, where he found methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia. At that point, the second deputy advised defendant of his Miranda rights. Defendant stated that he understood his rights and then

2 Robeson testified at the suppression hearing that he separated defendant from the passenger so that she could not conform her answers to defendant’s. At the suppression hearing, defendant did not challenge Robeson’s decision to hand- cuff him. Perhaps for that reason, neither the state nor defendant asked Robeson about the circumstances that led him to do so. 3 Justice Baldwin’s dissent states that “Robeson questioned [defendant] about illegal activity unrelated to the stop without first warning him that he had a right to remain silent.” 357 Or at 398-99 (Baldwin, J., dissenting). Justice Walters’ dissent contains a similar statement. To the extent that the dissents suggest that Robeson asked defendant something other than (1) questions about defendant’s identity and (2) “if there was anything [the deputies] should be con- cerned about” in defendant’s car, that suggestion does not appear consistent with the record.

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Bluebook (online)
State v. Delong, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-delong-or-2015.