State v. Fields

2005 ND 15, 691 N.W.2d 233, 2005 N.D. LEXIS 23, 2005 WL 100799
CourtNorth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedJanuary 19, 2005
Docket20040037
StatusPublished
Cited by24 cases

This text of 2005 ND 15 (State v. Fields) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering North Dakota 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. Fields, 2005 ND 15, 691 N.W.2d 233, 2005 N.D. LEXIS 23, 2005 WL 100799 (N.D. 2005).

Opinions

NEUMANN, Justice.

[¶ 1] The State appealed from the trial court’s grant of Christopher Fields’ motion to suppress evidence related to a search of his home on May 15, 2003. We hold the nighttime search violated N.D.R.Crim.P. 41(c)(1), and affirm the order suppressing the evidence obtained as a result of the illegal search.

I

[¶ 2] On May 13, 2003, Officer Eisen-mann testified at a hearing in support of a warrant to search Fields’ home. Eisen-mann testified that during a garbage search law enforcement discovered five corner baggies with white residue powder, one of which tested positive for methamphetamine, three burnt “tinfoilies” regularly used for smoking methamphetamine, and a cut up hanger with the strong smell of marijuana. Eisenmann also testified he had personal knowledge Fields used his vehicle to transport narcotics. Eisenmann [235]*235testified that during a traffic stop in May 2002, law enforcement discovered a handgun, cash, and drugs in Fields’ vehicle! This evidence was a result of an illegal search of Fields’ vehicle. State v. Fields, 2003 ND 81, ¶ 21, 662 N.W.2d 242.

[¶ 3] Fields moved to suppress any evidence found as a result of the 2003 search of his home, arguing the illegally obtained evidence from the 2002 traffic stop could not be used to support the warrant. Fields argued that without the tainted evidence, the warrant was not supported by probable cause. The trial court granted the motion after finding the search warrant was improperly supported by evidence of a previous illegal search of Fields’ vehicle. See Fields, 2003 ND 81, 662 N.W.2d 242 (holding evidence obtained due to an unlawful detention during a traffic stop must be suppressed). The trial court held that without the evidence from the illegal search, the warrant would not have been issued because it lacked the necessary finding of probable cause.

[¶ 4] On appeal, the State does not dispute the evidence from the illegal search of Fields’ vehicle cannot support a valid search warrant. The State argues the search warrant was supported by enough independent evidence, even without the tainted evidence, to establish probable cause. Fields argues, even if the warrant was supported by probable cause, the evidence did not support a separate finding of probable cause sufficient to support the nighttime warrant. Fields argues the evidence obtained as a result of the deficient warrant should be suppressed.

II

[¶ 5] The State argues the evidence was improperly suppressed because, after excising the illegally obtained evidence, the remaining evidence is sufficient to establish probable cause for the search warrant. We have addressed probable cause stating:

Probable cause is required for a search warrant under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, and Article I, Section 8 of the North Dakota Constitution. Whether there is probable cause to issue a search warrant is a question of law. The totality-of-the-cireumstances test is used to review whether information before the magistrate was sufficient to find probable cause, independent of the trial court’s findings.
* * * *
Probable cause to search does not require the same standard of proof necessary to establish guilt at trial. Probable cause to search exists if it is established that certain identifiable objects are probably connected with criminal activity and are probably to be found at the present time at an identifiable place. Circumstantial evidence may alone establish probable cause to support a search warrant. The information available for a probable cause determination is considered together, not separately.

State v. Wamre, 1999 ND 164, ¶¶ 5-6, 599 N.W.2d 268 (internal quotations and citations omitted).

[¶ 6] It is well established that illegally obtained evidence cannot be used to establish probable cause to issue a search warrant. State v. Corum, 2003 ND 89, ¶ 9, 663 N.W.2d 151 (citing Alderman v. United States, 394 U.S. 165, 177, 89 S.Ct. 961, 22 L.Ed.2d 176 (1969); State v. Winkler, 1997 ND 144, ¶ 12, 567 N.W.2d 330; State v. Runck, 534 N.W.2d 829, 833-34 (N.D.1995); State v. Kunkel, 455 N.W.2d 208, 211-12 (N.D.1990)). To determine whether probable cause exists, we excise the tainted information from the affidavit and consider the remaining legal evidence presented to the issuing magis[236]*236trate. See State v. Winkler, 552 N.W.2d 347, 353 (N.D.1996) (noting to have a valid search, a search warrant must be based upon a source independent of information gained from an illegal entry). After removing the tainted evidence from consideration, evidence from the garbage search and from police surveillance of Fields’ home remain to establish probable cause for the search. The garbage search produced five corner baggies with white residue powder, one of which tested positive for cocaine, three burnt “tinfoilies” regularly used for smoking methamphetamine, and a cut up hanger with the strong smell of marijuana.

[¶ 7] Probable cause to issue a search warrant “exists if the facts and circumstances relied on by the magistrate would warrant a person of reasonable caution to believe the contraband or evidence sought probably will be found in the place to be searched.” Corum, 2003 ND 89, ¶ 22, 663 N.W.2d 151 (citations omitted). Relying on the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, this Court stated, “Where drug residue is discovered in the garbage, ‘it is well established that affidavits based almost entirely on the evidence garnered from garbage may be sufficient to support a finding of probable cause.’ ” State v. Jones, 2002 ND 193, ¶ 17, 653 N.W.2d 668 (quoting United States v. Sumpter, 669 F.2d 1215, 1221 (8th Cir.1982)). This Court has previously held probable cause to issue a search warrant existed when probable cause was “primarily established from drug residue in the garbage.” Id. (citing State v. Duchene, 2001 ND 66, ¶¶ 15-17, 624 N.W.2d 668 (holding probable cause to issue a search warrant was supported by marijuana seeds and stems found in the garbage along with prior drug convictions); State v. Johnson, 531 N.W.2d 275, 278 (N.D.1995) (holding the presence of marijuana seeds in the garbage provided a substantial basis to support probable cause); State v. Erickson, 496 N.W.2d 555, 559 (N.D.1993) (holding evidence of marijuana combined with citation and envelope with Erickson’s name in the garbage supported a determination of probable cause)).

[¶ 8] In State v. Thieling, 2000 ND 106, 611 N.W.2d 861, we noted baggies, plastic and tin foil, common household items found during a garbage search, did not support probable cause to believe illegal drugs were being packaged in the home. Id. at ¶¶ 9, 13. The baggies were torn and tied but did not contain drug residue. Id. at ¶ 9. We stated that the garbage evidence without drug residue did not create a high degree of suspicion and was “merely a thin layer to be measured in the probable cause analysis.” Id. Fields’ garbage also contained baggies.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2005 ND 15, 691 N.W.2d 233, 2005 N.D. LEXIS 23, 2005 WL 100799, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-fields-nd-2005.