State v. Matthieu

506 So. 2d 1209
Supreme Court of Louisiana·Decided May 18, 1987·No. 87-KK-0044·Published·Cited by 17 cases

Opinion

506 So.2d 1209 (1987)

STATE of Louisiana
v.
Randolph MATTHIEU.

No. 87-KK-0044.

Supreme Court of Louisiana.

May 18, 1987.

*1210 William J. Guste, Jr., Atty. Gen., J. Nathan Stansbury, Dist. Atty., Carrol Spell, Jr., Asst. Dist. Atty., for applicant.

Lee Gallaspy, Lafayette, for respondent.

COLE, Justice.

This is a second degree murder prosecution in which the defendant, Randolph Matthieu, moved to suppress evidence obtained during a search of his residence. The trial court granted defendant's motion, and the Court of Appeal denied writs finding no error in the ruling. The primary issue is whether or not the murder weapon seized at defendant's residence, pursuant to a search warrant, should be suppressed on grounds his residence is located outside the territorial jurisdiction of the court which issued the warrant.

The victim, Norris Foreman, was last seen leaving the C'est La Guerre Lounge in Lafayette in the company of another man, on August 8, 1982. Two days later, Foreman's body was found floating face down in a drainage canal. He had been stabbed, shot several times with a .22 caliber weapon, and his throat had been cut.

Nine months later, on May 14, 1983, Randolph Matthieu entered the C'est La Guerre Lounge and was recognized as the person who had left the lounge with Foreman on the night he was killed. The Lafayette City Police were notified and the defendant was questioned. However, because the defendant declined to answer any questions about the murder without consulting an attorney, questioning was terminated and the officers allowed him to leave. On May 16, 1983, Detective Robert Johnson obtained a warrant for defendant's arrest for the murder of Norris Foreman. On the same day, the detective also applied for and obtained a warrant to search defendant's home in Arnaudville, Louisiana. Both warrants were signed by a district court judge in Lafayette Parish, of the 15th Judicial District. This district is comprised of Acadia, Lafayette, and Vermillion Parishes. The warrants were executed the same day. In the search of defendant's residence a .22 caliber rifle was found, which testing later demonstrated to be the murder weapon. After defendant's arrest at his residence, he was booked first into the jail in St. Martinville, in St. Martin Parish, and was then transferred to the jail in the city of Lafayette. Defendant was subsequently indicted for second degree murder.

Defendant sought exclusion of the seized evidence on two grounds. He argued the search warrant was facially defective because it purported to authorize a search at an address which did not lie within the territorial jurisdiction of the issuing court. Code Crim.P. art. 161. He also asserted the information relied on was too stale or remote in time to establish the requisite probable cause.

The hearing on the motion to suppress was delayed approximately three years. During this time defendant was at large as a fugitive, after obtaining an ex parte order permitting him to leave the state. Following his apprehension and return to Louisiana, a hearing was held September 9, 1986. The trial court ultimately granted relief on the ground the police knowingly executed the warrant outside the jurisdiction of the issuing court. There was no specific ruling on defendant's second ground pertaining to the existence of probable cause, and we do not consider that issue.

The State conceded at the hearing defendant's home was located in St. Martin Parish, and the trial court found as a matter of fact the property was located 100 to 150 yards outside of Lafayette Parish on a rural route. Thus, the search was conducted outside the jurisdiction of the issuing court and was violative of Code Crim.P. art. 161. However, the court was persuaded initially the officers were in good faith, honestly believing at the time of the *1211 search they were still within the territorial jurisdiction of Lafayette Parish. The court stated it was not until the search was completed that the officers discovered they were in St. Martin Parish. Relying on the rationale of U.S. v. Leon, 468 U.S. 897, 104 S.Ct. 3405, 82 L.Ed.2d 677 (1984), and absent any misconduct or impropriety on the part of the police, the court did not agree the defendant was entitled to exclusion of the evidence seized under the warrant. Consequently, the motion to suppress was denied.

The next day, however, on September 10, 1986, events occurred which caused the court to reassess its ruling. On this day the State advised the trial court of conflicting facts contained in the contemporaneous police reports, which indicated the testimony of the previous day was inaccurate. The court conducted an in camera examination of the police reports which, according to the court, showed defendant was arrested at 10:47 A.M. on May 16. The reports also showed he was booked into the St. Martin Parish jail at 12:05 that same day, and the search was conducted shortly after 3:00 P.M. Because the arresting officer, Detective Dale Broussard,[1] had testified defendant told him they were in St. Martin Parish as defendant was being handcuffed, the court apparently determined the arrest marked the last point in time at which police could reasonably possess a good faith belief they were still within the jurisdiction of the court which authorized the search. The court imputed the knowledge of Detective Broussard to Detective Johnson who was the primary officer on the case and who directed the search.[2] With such imputed knowledge, the objective good faith standard which was the touchstone of Leon was no longer applicable. As a result, the court changed its ruling of the previous day and granted the motion to suppress.

The State in brief relies on three main arguments. It first contends the search warrant complied completely with Art. 1, Section 5 of the La. Constitution, and because there was nothing unconstitutional about the manner in which the warrant was obtained, suppression of the evidence is not appropriate under Code of Crim.P. art. 703 where there is no culpability or wrongdoing on the part of the police. Because there was neither a Fourth Amendment violation or Art. 1, § 5 violation, and thus no constitutional violation, the State asserts the exclusionary rule should not apply. Secondly, the State asserts under Leon, supra, the Fourth Amendment exclusionary rule should not be applied as a bar to the use of evidence obtained by officers acting in reasonable reliance on a search warrant issued by a detached and neutral magistrate, but ultimately found to be invalid. This is especially true it is argued, where there has been no misconduct or ill practice on the part of the officers. In the alternative, the State also urges the evidence seized should be admissible on the ground it would ultimately or inevitably have been discovered with or without a constitutional violation, under the inevitable discovery exception to the exclusionary rule adopted in Nix v. Williams, 467 U.S. 431, 104 S.Ct. 2501, 81 L.Ed.2d 377 (1984).

We find no constitutional violation occurred as a result of the search taking place outside the territorial jurisdiction of the court issuing the warrant, and we find the police were not guilty of ill practices or misconduct. We therefore reverse the judgment of the lower court. It is unnecessary to address the State's final argument pertaining to the doctrine of inevitable discovery.

A search warrant may issue only upon an affidavi

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State v. Matthieu, 506 So. 2d 1209 (La. 1987).

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