State v. Jones

333 P.3d 886, 300 Kan. 630, 2014 Kan. LEXIS 495
CourtSupreme Court of Kansas
DecidedAugust 29, 2014
DocketNo. 106,605
StatusPublished
Cited by58 cases

This text of 333 P.3d 886 (State v. Jones) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Jones, 333 P.3d 886, 300 Kan. 630, 2014 Kan. LEXIS 495 (kan 2014).

Opinion

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Luckert, J.:

In this interlocutory appeal, a divided Court of Appeals panel affirmed a district judge’s order suppressing evidence seized during a warrantless vehicle search conducted incident to a traffic stop. State v. Jones, 47 Kan. App. 2d 866, 878, 280 P.3d 824 (2012). The three judges on the panel agreed the district judge erred in concluding that the pretextual nature of the traffic stop rendered the seizure constitutionally invalid, but a majority of the panel concluded the district judge’s decision to suppress the evidence should be affirmed on alternate grounds. Specifically, the majority held the law enforcement officer did not have a reasonable suspicion that justified the search. In the dissent, the third member of the panel concluded it was inappropriate to do anything but reverse and remand the case for additional findings by the district court regarding whether a reasonable suspicion existed.

On petition for review of that decision, we affirm the Court of Appeals majority. Although the dissenting judge was correct that an appellate court cannot conduct factfinding, an appellate court conducts a de novo review of the totality of the circumstances to determine whether reasonable suspicion exists. Hence, as long as the facts are undisputed or a reasonable suspicion determination can be made based on the district judge’s factual findings, an appellate court can assess whether reasonable suspicion exists. In this case, the undisputed facts and the district judge’s findings of fact are sufficient for appellate review of the totality of circumstances. Based on that review, we agree with the Court of Appeals majority [633]*633that the circumstances did not establish a reasonable suspicion that justified a search of the vehicle. Thus, the search of the vehicle was invalid, and the evidence was appropriately suppressed.

We, therefore, affirm the district court and the Court of Appeals.

Procedural and Factual History

Kala Jones was stopped by Garden City Police Officer Bill Powers late one night when she was “just driving around” her mother’s neighborhood; she explained that she and her passengers—her little brother and one of his friends—wanted to hear the end of a song and so kept driving rather tiran stopping at her mother’s home. Officer Powers observed Jones “driving erratically.” He explained that he observed Jones “[tjurning abruptly, turning going [the] opposite direction[]” from the one she had been travelling and turning without signaling. Officer Powers suspected the driver was trying to avoid detection and pulled the vehicle over for various traffic infractions, including the failure to use a turn signal.

Officer Powers stopped Jones and asked for her identification. As Jones responded, according to the officer, “Her mouth appeared to be dry, to me, like she had cotton mouth. And her words were slurred.” Officer Powers also observed an empty, clear plastic baggy, which led to a “suspicion that there was something inside of the vehicle.” He testified that “from my training and experience, [the presence of a plastic baggy] indicates . . . the possibility of controlled substances.”

Officer Powers asked Jones for permission to search the vehicle, but Jones refused. Officer Powers contacted his immediate supervisor, who arrived 5 to 10 minutes after the stop, and then called for a K-9 unit. Officer Powers testified that approximately 15 to 20 minutes elapsed between the traffic stop and tire arrival of the K-9 unit; in comparison, it typically takes him approximately 10 to 15 minutes after initiating a traffic stop to write a citation. Jones disputed Officer Powers’ estimate of time, testifying that it took 10 or 15 minutes to run the check on her license and 40 minutes for the K-9 unit to arrive.

The K-9 detected the presence of illegal substances in the vehicle. A subsequent search of the vehicle revealed a purse in which [634]*634three pen tubes were located. Officer Powers believed tire tubes were used to ingest cocaine. Officer Powers arrested Jones for possession of cocaine in violation of K.S.A. 2010 Supp. 21-36a06(a) and possession of drug paraphernalia in violation of K.S.A. 2010 Supp. 21-36a09(b)(2). He did not write a traffic citation or conduct any tests to determine whether Jones had been driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Before Jones’ preliminary hearing, she filed a motion to suppress the evidence obtained during the warrantless search of her vehicle. An evidentiary hearing was conducted before District Magistrate Judge Ricklin J. Pierce at which both Officer Powers and Jones testified. The district magistrate judge denied the motion to suppress.

Before trial, Jones filed a second motion to suppress that was considered by District Judge Michael L. Quint. The State again presented Officer Powers’ testimony. Although the officer’s testimony was substantially similar to his previous testimony before the district magistrate judge, there were differences, and the hearing resulted in a different outcome. In a written order, the district judge suppressed the evidence obtained during the search of Jones’ vehicle. The judge acknowledged that the officer had testified to what he labeled as “erratic driving” and that there was conflicting evidence regarding the duration of tire stop. The judge then concluded:

“13. It is this Court’s finding, based upon the testimony, that the officer was playing a hunch and the traffic stop and the ticket for no use of a turn signal was merely a pretext to hold the Defendant illegally for as long as necessary to get a K-9 unit there in the hope of securing a probable cause finding for searching the vehicle.
“14. If a traffic citation was justified, the officer had only as long as it was reasonably necessary to write the ticket and then release the Defendant to go on her way. Obviously since no ticket was ever [written], it adds weight to the claim that the stop was only a pretext and that the officer violated the Defendant’s constitutional right against unreasonable search and seizures.”

On interlocutory appeal, a majority of a divided Court of Appeals panel affirmed the district judge’s ruling, although on different grounds. Jones, 47 Kan. App. 2d at 878. The majority held that the [635]*635district judge’s decision was erroneous because he relied on the pretextual nature of the traffic stop. 47 Kan. App. 2d at 878. Nevertheless, the majority analyzed whether there was a basis to extend the traffic stop. Listing the factors articulated by the officer when asked what he observed that was “out of the ordinary”—Jones’ slurred speech and cotton mouth and the presence of an empty, clear plastic baggy—the majority concluded “there was no reasonable suspicion to justify further detention of the suspect.” 47 Kan. App. 2d at 869, 872. Then, assuming alternatively that the officer’s suspicion was objectively reasonable, the majority considered whether the detention had been reasonably extended. Noting that a traffic stop cannot exceed the duration necessary to carry out the purpose of the stop, the majority held the wait for the K-9 unit, which the majority concluded was an additional 20 to 30 minutes, unreasonably prolonged die traffic stop. 47 Kan. App. 2d at 876-78.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State v. Knox
Court of Appeals of Kansas, 2026
Snyder v. Kansas Dept. of Revenue
Court of Appeals of Kansas, 2026
State v. Beck
Supreme Court of Kansas, 2025
State v. George
Court of Appeals of Kansas, 2025
State v. Mendez
559 P.3d 792 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 2024)
State v. Villarreal
Court of Appeals of Kansas, 2024
City of Overland Park v. LaGuardia
Court of Appeals of Kansas, 2024
State v. Martin
544 P.3d 820 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 2024)
State v. Flack
Supreme Court of Kansas, 2024
State v. Wilson
Court of Appeals of Kansas, 2023
State v. Winter
Court of Appeals of Kansas, 2023
Vlcek v. Kansas Dept. of Revenue
Court of Appeals of Kansas, 2023
State v. Campbell
Court of Appeals of Kansas, 2022
Schreiner v. Hodge
504 P.3d 410 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 2022)
State v. Helfrich
Court of Appeals of Kansas, 2022
State v. Mosier
Court of Appeals of Kansas, 2021
State v. Gilliland
490 P.3d 66 (Court of Appeals of Kansas, 2021)
State v. Arrizabalaga
485 P.3d 634 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 2021)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
333 P.3d 886, 300 Kan. 630, 2014 Kan. LEXIS 495, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-jones-kan-2014.