State v. Mancia-Sandoval

2010 Ark. 134, 361 S.W.3d 835, 2010 WL 986798, 2010 Ark. LEXIS 160
CourtSupreme Court of Arkansas
DecidedMarch 18, 2010
DocketNo. CR 09-1094
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 2010 Ark. 134 (State v. Mancia-Sandoval) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Mancia-Sandoval, 2010 Ark. 134, 361 S.W.3d 835, 2010 WL 986798, 2010 Ark. LEXIS 160 (Ark. 2010).

Opinions

PAUL E. DANIELSON, Justice.

liAppellant State of Arkansas appeals from the circuit court’s order granting a motion to suppress evidence in favor of appellees Jose Adilio Mancia-Sandoval and Osires Guevara. The State’s sole point on appeal is that, because a pretextual stop is not prohibited by the Arkansas or federal constitutions, the circuit court erred in suppressing evidence discovered following a canine sniff of a vehicle that was validly detained on probable cause. Appellees did not file a response. We agree with the State and reverse and remand.

The record reveals the following facts. Deputy Cory Coggin had been conducting a six-month drug-trafficking investigation, which involved a possible drug house that he had under surveillance. On November 3, 2008, Benton County Sheriffs Deputy Eric Lyle and his canine were stationed near that house. Two different sources advised Deputy Coggin that there was going to be some type of drug activity coming from that house that night. Around | pten o’clock that evening, Deputy Coggin told Deputy Lyle on the radio that two vehicles had left the house and asked him to follow a white Honda until he had probable cause to stop it.

Deputy Lyle quickly followed the white Honda, and as he approached the car to read the license plate, the driver slammed on his brakes, started to turn, turned on the turn signal, and turned into a corner gas station’s parking lot. The car’s signal came about 10 to 20 feet before the car turned. Deputy Lyle initiated a pretextual traffic stop based on the improper signaling before the turn. Deputy Lyle testified that after he told the driver the reason he stopped the car, the driver appeared to be extremely nervous.

Deputy Lyle ran his canine around the car approximately five minutes after he initiated the traffic stop. Deputy Lyle did not issue a traffic-violation citation, but, after the dog alerted on the car, he detained both appellees, the driver and a passenger, and searched the car. Deputy Lyle found approximately four ounces of methamphetamine. Both appellees were charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver. Appellees moved to suppress the evidence, alleging that it was seized in violation of their Fourth Amendment rights. The circuit court held a suppression hearing.

The State admitted that the stop was pretextual, but argued that, because Deputy Lyle had probable cause that a traffic violation occurred, it was reasonable to stop the vehicle under Arkansas and federal constitutional law and that the officer’s immediate use of his canine around the vehicle and a positive alert gave him probable cause to search it. Appellees argued that Deputy Lyle created the probable cause to stop the vehicle and that there was no | ¡¡additional probable cause to allow the canine sniff because mere nervousness during the traffic stop did not justify it.

In granting appellees’ motion to suppress, the circuit court made the following findings on the record after the suppression hearing:

While it’s clear under the United States Supreme Court decisions — decisions in [Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806, 116 S.Ct. 1769, 135 L.Ed.2d 89 (1996) ] and [United States v. Robinson, 414 U.S. 218, 94 S.Ct. 467, 38 L.Ed.2d 427 (1973) ], and the [State v. Sullivan, 348 Ark. 647, 74 S.W.3d 215 (2002) ] case by the Arkansas Supreme Court, that pre-textual stops in general are constitutional, in this case I’m persuaded that this traffic stop was unconstitutional. The officer testified he was told to find a reason to stop the defendant’s car, which he did. The defendant’s quick braking and utilization of the turn signal, while the defendants’ car was turning into a gas station, became the basis of the traffic stop. The officer testified that he was going to find a reason to stop this car and use of the turn signal while turning was the basis for his stop. He had acknowledged that he had to accelerate rapidly to catch up to the vehicle and thus there is a question as to whether the defendants braked suddenly. This detective defined a reason to stop the defendants’ ear was confirmed by the officer who gave it [sic]. Both officers admitted that this car was going to be found violating some traffic law and stopped. A traffic violation arrest is pretext for — pretext for narcotics search in general is valid, but I can find no authority that suggests officers may set out on a mission to find a traffic violation. I commend the officers for their honesty, their integrity, and credibility with this Court are intact [sic]. I’m persuaded, however, that the stop crosses constitutional boundaries and thus the motion to suppress is granted.

The State now appeals the circuit court’s order granting the appellees’ motion to suppress evidence.

Prior to examining the merits of any state appeal, we must first determine whether it is a proper state appeal. Arkansas Rule of Appellate Procedure— Criminal 8(a)(1) provides that “[a]n interlocutory appeal on behalf of the state may be taken only from a pretrial order in a felony prosecution which (1) grants a motion under Ark. R.Crim. P[.] 16.2 to suppress seized 14evidence[.]” Ark. R.App. P.-Crim. 3(a)(1) (2009). The rule further states:

(c) When a notice of appeal is filed pursuant to either subsection (a) or (b) of this rule, the clerk of the court in which the prosecution sought to be appealed took place shall immediately cause a transcript of the trial record to be made and transmitted to the attorney general, or delivered to the prosecuting attorney, to be by him delivered to the attorney general. If the attorney general, on inspecting the trial record, is satisfied that error has been committed to the prejudice of the state, and that the correct and uniform administration of the criminal law requires review by the Supreme Court, he may take the appeal by filing the transcript of the trial record with the clerk of the Supreme Court within sixty (60) days after the filing of the notice of appeal.

Ark. R.App. P.-Crim. 3(c) (emphasis added).

As this court has frequently observed, there is a significant and inherent difference between appeals brought by criminal defendants and those brought on behalf of the State. See State v. Jones, 369 Ark. 195, 252 S.W.3d 119 (2007) (citing State v. Nichols, 364 Ark. 1, 216 S.W.3d 114 (2005)). The former is a matter of right, whereas the latter is not derived from the constitution, nor is it a matter of right, but is granted pursuant to Ark. R.App. P.-Crim. 3. See id. We accept appeals by the State when our holding would be important to the correct and uniform administration of the criminal law. See id.

As a matter of practice, this court has only taken appeals that are narrow in scope and involve the interpretation of law. See id. (citing State v. Pittman, 360 Ark. 273, 200 S.W.3d 893 (2005)). We do not permit State appeals merely to demonstrate the fact that the circuit court erred. See id.

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Bluebook (online)
2010 Ark. 134, 361 S.W.3d 835, 2010 WL 986798, 2010 Ark. LEXIS 160, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-mancia-sandoval-ark-2010.