State v. Kauflin

294 So. 2d 4, 1974 Fla. App. LEXIS 7165
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedMay 7, 1974
DocketNo. U-263
StatusPublished

This text of 294 So. 2d 4 (State v. Kauflin) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Kauflin, 294 So. 2d 4, 1974 Fla. App. LEXIS 7165 (Fla. Ct. App. 1974).

Opinions

BOYER, Judge.

This is an interlocutory appeal by the State of Florida from an order of the trial court suppressing evidence in a criminal proceeding against the appellee charged by information with possession of marijuana and paraphernalia to be used incident to the use of narcotics.

[5]*5The defendant (appellee here) filed a motion “to suppress any confession or admissions illegally obtained.” Attached to the motion, and in support thereof, were the depositions of one Arnold, a civilian investigator employed by the United States Navy, having arrest powers and one Kovalycsik, a chief petty officer. There was no other evidence nor testimony adduced before the trial judge in support of or in opposition to the motion to suppress. The motion recited that the two depositions above mentioned conclusively demonstrated “that the search initially was illegal and thgt any evidence thereafter obtained is inadmissible against defendant as ‘the fruit of a poisonous tree.’ ” The trial court entered an order reciting consideration of the motion and the depositions above mentioned, ordering “that the motion of the defendant to suppress anything and everything obtained by the searches above described be and the same is hereby granted and defendant’s motion to suppress any confession or admissions illegally obtained be and the same is hereby granted.”

The depositions considered by the trial court, and forming the basis of his order, reveal that the defendant enjoyed such a position with the United States Navy as to require a special intelligence security clearance and that the naval command had received information that the defendant was involved in the use of marijuana resulting in the captain of the command directing Arnold and the chief to investigate. The two investigators went to the trailer occupied by the defendant and knocked upon the door, whereupon the defendant responded giving the appearance as having just gotten out of bed. The investigators informed the defendant of their identities and mission and., asked him to get dressed and accompany them back to Corry Field for questioning.

The depositions of the two investigators had been taken by the defendant’s attorney, being the same attorney who is representing the defendant on this appeal. Regarding the initial entrance into the trailer the deposition of Arnold, then being questioned by the attorney for the defendant, reveals the following:

“Q. Were you able to look inside and see him while he was dressing, or was he in another part of the trailer ?
“A. When he — when he went to get dressed, the door was partially open and myself and the Chief stepped inside of the living room to wait on him.
“Q. And did he go - back in another room?
“A. Yes, he went back into one of the bedrooms to get dressed.
“Q. And, when he got dressed, and came out, what happened ?
“A. During the time he was back there getting dressed, I noticed a brown paper bag near the center of the living room floor that had. two plastic bags in it that is commonly used to transport or to carry marijuana.' I reached over and picked up these two bags and noticed that they did have what appeared to be marijuana in the bags and I carried them with me.
“Q. You took those bags out of the trailer with you ?
“A. Yes, sir.
“Q. And, Mr. Kauflin then came and accompanied you back to Corry Field?
“A. Yes, sir.”

Arnold was not asked whether the defendant invited the investigators to wait in the living room while he got dressed and there is nothing in his deposition either affirming or negating such an invitation. However the deposition of the chief petty officer, also conducted by the defendant’s attorney, revealed the following:

“Q. Now, you were accompanied by Mr. Lance Arnold ?
“A. Yes, sir, I was in accompany with Mr. Arnold. We knocked on the door and we told him we would like to talk [6]*6with him on base at Corry Field. He says, come on in while I get dressed and we’ll go down. We went on in, and Mr. Kauflin went towards the bedroom of the trailer — towards the back of the trailer. While he was gone, Mr. Arnold noticed a paper bag on the floor, and noticed the container of that which is used —the type that contains marijuana, the plastic bag, little baggies. We then left the trailer.
“Q. Did Mr. Arnold pick the bag up?
“A. Yes, sir, Mr. Arnold picked the bag up.”

The depositions further reveal that the defendant thereupon accompanied the investigators to the chief’s office in Corry Field where he was “given his rights” and upon indicating that he understood his rights and did not wish a lawyer the defendant was questioned regarding his use of marijuana which he initially denied but finally admitted. The defendant thereupon signed an authorization for permission to have his trailer searched, and he then returned with the investigators where he produced a small suitcase containing five plastic bags of marijuana and other paraphernalia incident to its use.

Arnold’s deposition also reveals extensive experience as an investigator and that he had been informed by at least two informants that the defendant was a user of marijuana. In response to further questions by the defendant’s attorney regarding the plastic bags initially found in the trailer the deposition reveals the following:

“Q. Was there anything visible in the bag, just by casually looking in the bag, you could tell what was in it ?
“A. By casually looking down in the bag, I saw the plastic bag, and from my experience, I recognized what it was.
There was other trash in the bag, also. * * *»

The appellant urges that this case is controlled by “the plan view doctrine”, citing State v. Parnell, Fla.1969, 221 So.2d 129; State v. Perez, Fla.1973, 277 So.2d 778; State v. Clarke, 4 Fla.App., 1970, 242 So.2d 791; State v. Bryant, 2 Fla.App., 1971, 250 So.2d 344 and Powers v. State, 1 Fla.App., 1973, 271 So.2d 462.

The appellee urges that the plain view doctrine is totally inapplicable and that the case is governed by the “fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine”, citing Silverthorne Lumber Company v. United States, 251 U.S. 385, 40 S.Ct. 182, 64 L.Ed. 319, 24 A.L.R. 1426, Nardone v. United States (1939), 308 U.S. 338, 60 S.Ct. 266, 84 L.Ed. 307, and French v. State of Florida, 3 Fla.App., 1967, 198 So.2d 668.

We are of the view that the plain view doctrine is applicable, that neither the physical evidence nor the admissions of the defendant were tainted and that the order of the trial court suppressing the evidence must be reversed.

As reflected by the depositions (which constituted the sole evidence before the trial court) Arnold was an experienced investigator and had received reliable information of the defendant’s involvement with marijuana.

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Related

Boyd v. United States
116 U.S. 616 (Supreme Court, 1886)
Silverthorne Lumber Co. v. United States
251 U.S. 385 (Supreme Court, 1920)
Nardone v. United States
308 U.S. 338 (Supreme Court, 1939)
McDonald v. United States
335 U.S. 451 (Supreme Court, 1948)
United States v. Jeffers
342 U.S. 48 (Supreme Court, 1951)
Jones v. United States
357 U.S. 493 (Supreme Court, 1958)
Katz v. United States
389 U.S. 347 (Supreme Court, 1967)
Harris v. United States
390 U.S. 234 (Supreme Court, 1968)
Coolidge v. New Hampshire
403 U.S. 443 (Supreme Court, 1971)
Lawrence Reginald Miller v. United States
356 F.2d 63 (Fifth Circuit, 1966)
State v. Bryant
250 So. 2d 344 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1971)
Carroll v. State
186 So. 2d 834 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1966)
Shipman v. State
282 So. 2d 700 (Supreme Court of Alabama, 1973)
State v. Parnell
221 So. 2d 129 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1969)
State v. Clarke
242 So. 2d 791 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1970)
French v. State
198 So. 2d 668 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1967)
State v. Ashby
245 So. 2d 225 (Supreme Court of Florida, 1971)
State v. Jackson
269 So. 2d 465 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1972)
Powers v. State
271 So. 2d 462 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1973)

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Bluebook (online)
294 So. 2d 4, 1974 Fla. App. LEXIS 7165, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-kauflin-fladistctapp-1974.