State v. Kieffer

577 N.W.2d 352, 217 Wis. 2d 531, 1998 Wisc. LEXIS 55
CourtWisconsin Supreme Court
DecidedMay 12, 1998
Docket96-0008-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by66 cases

This text of 577 N.W.2d 352 (State v. Kieffer) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wisconsin 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. Kieffer, 577 N.W.2d 352, 217 Wis. 2d 531, 1998 Wisc. LEXIS 55 (Wis. 1998).

Opinions

JANINE P. GESKE, J.

¶ 1. This review of a published decision of the court of appeals1 presents two questions regarding authority to consent to a warrant-less police search: First, did the defendant's father-in-law have actual authority to consent to a search of the loft area above the father-in-law's garage where the defendant and his wife were living? Second, even if the father-in-law lacked actual authority to consent, could the police reasonably rely upon his apparent authority to consent to a search of the defendant's living quarters in the loft? The circuit court for Walworth County, Michael S. Gibbs, presiding, inferentially concluded that the father-in-law, Robert Garlock lacked actual authority to consent, but expressly concluded that the officers acted reasonably under the circumstances in believing that the father-in-law had apparent authority to consent to the search. The circuit court therefore denied the defendant's motion to suppress evidence based on the warrantless search. The court of appeals reversed. We first conclude that the father-in-law lacked actual authority to consent to a search of the defendant's living area. Second, we conclude that the [534]*534police made insufficient inquiry and thus could not reasonably rely upon the father-in-law's apparent authority to consent to a search of the defendant's living area. We therefore affirm the decision of the court of appeals.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

¶ 2. We first consider those facts known to the arresting officers at the time of the search. Early in the morning of April 9, 1995, Whitewater police arrested Scott Garlock for possession of psilocybin mushrooms, a controlled substance. See Wis. Stat. § 161.41(lm)(g)l.2 Scott Garlock informed the police that he had purchased the mushrooms from John Zat-tera, and that Zattera had more mushrooms in his possession. Scott Garlock gave the police an address where Zattera was staying, the residence of Scott's father, Robert Garlock. Without obtaining a search warrant, Officer Scott Priebe and Sergeant Thomas Bushey of the Whitewater Police Department, and Deputy Timothy Otterbacher of the Walworth County Sheriffs Department, went to that address to look for Zattera. When they arrived at approximately 8:45 a.m., they spoke to Robert Garlock (Garlock), who identified himself as the owner of the property, including the garage and loft area.

¶ 3. The police informed Garlock that his son Scott had been arrested on a drug charge. They also [535]*535told Garlock of their suspicion that there might be drugs in the (Garlock) residence, or in the area where Zattera was staying. Garlock became upset and readily consented to let police search anywhere on the premises because "he didn't want any drugs on his property." Garlock told the officers that his daughter and son-in-law, Dawn and John Kieffer, slept in a loft area above Garlock's garage. Garlock also reported that Zattera was staying with them.

¶ 4. Before proceeding to the garage loft, the three officers asked Garlock about the living arrangements. Deputy Otterbacher asked Garlock what he owned, to which he responded the house and the loft or barn. The officers asked whether the Kieffers paid rent. Garlock replied that the Kieffers sometimes helped pay the electric bills but that there was no written lease. The police also learned that there was no plumbing in the loft, and no telephone. Later, at the suppression hearing in this case, Officer Bushey testified that he understood this information to mean that although the Kieffers slept in the loft, they used the entire house as their home:3

The way I understood it they used the entire house and the loft area. The loft area is where they slept, but they came in the house to take their showers, go to the bathroom, use the phone, and I would assume [536]*536it's where they would eat dinner. The loft area was a place that they stayed and slept.

¶ 5. Garlock then led the officers to the detached garage, approximately 15 to 20 feet behind the house. The outside door to the garage was unlocked. Garlock opened the outside garage door. There were no outside steps leading directly to the loft. Deputy Otterbacher asked Garlock how he normally entered the loft. Gar-lock told police that he usually knocked before entering the loft, "out of respect." With Garlock leading the way, the three officers and he then climbed up the interior stairs to the Kieffers' living quarters. At the top of the stairs was a door with a lock; it was unlocked at the time.

¶ 6. Additional facts about the use of the loft area as living space, but not relayed to the police at the time of the search, came out in testimony at the suppression hearing. The Kieffers had converted the loft area into a living space with their own money. They did so with Garlock's permission. The Kieffers considered Garlock their landlord, and were living there by Garlock's rules. As part of their agreement, Garlock would not go into loft area without asking their permission. The Kieffers had the only keys to the loft. Dawn felt that as part of the agreement, she and her husband had the right to exclude anyone, including her parents, from the loft area. Garlock testified that the Kieffers paid the utilities monthly.4

¶ 7. At this point, the testimony diverges regarding the manner of entry and sequence of conversation. Officer Bushey testified that Garlock poked his head in the door, and yelled to the Kieffers that the police were [537]*537there and wanted to talk to them. According to Deputy Otterbacher's testimony, someone said in response to Garlock's knock "come in" or words to that effect. At the hearing Garlock testified that he didn't knock, he simply opened the door and walked into the loft. Garlock entered first. The officers followed. When Garlock entered, he took hold of the dog that was in the loft.

¶ 8. At the suppression hearing, Garlock testified as to his custom in entering the loft, and also the manner in which he entered the loft area on the day of the search:

Q: (District Attorney Resch) And you have gone into that loft for various reasons prior to April 9th of 1994 (sic) when they were living there, correct?
A: (Robert Garlock) With their permission.
Q: You apparently knocked on the door like you did on April 9th?
A: No, I didn't knock on the door. No.
Q: You didn't knock on the door?
A: No.
Q: Well, how did ymi-
A: I just walked in. Like I said, I was very upset and I just walked in.
Q: And you're free and comfortable in doing that, correct?
A: Yes. Considering the way I felt, yes.
Q: You did not walk into that apartment because the police officers told you to go in; isn't that correct?
A: No. They didn't tell me. I just told them that I would go up there. After they told me what it was all about, I told them that I would go up there and take [538]*538care of the dog because I didn't want to see anybody get hurt with the dog.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
577 N.W.2d 352, 217 Wis. 2d 531, 1998 Wisc. LEXIS 55, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-kieffer-wis-1998.