State v. Miles

159 Wash. App. 282
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedJanuary 10, 2011
DocketNo. 61474-6-I
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 159 Wash. App. 282 (State v. Miles) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Miles, 159 Wash. App. 282 (Wash. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

Schindler, J.

¶1 — In State v. Miles, 160 Wn.2d 236, 252, 156 P.3d 864 (2007), the Washington Supreme Court held that the issuance of an administrative subpoena for the bank records of Michael M. Miles by the Washington State Securities Division of the Department of Financial Institutions (Securities Division) under The Securities Act of Washington, chapter 21.20 RCW, violated Miles’s right to privacy under article I, section 7 of the Washington State Constitution. After the mandate issued, the State filed an application for a search warrant to obtain bank records related to the initial complaint filed against Miles with the Securities Division. After a superior court judge issued the search warrant, the trial court granted the defense motion to suppress. The trial court ruled the independent source exception did not allow the State to obtain the bank records because there was no evidence the State would have “come upon the evidence other than from referral by the Securities Division after its flawed investigation.” Under the independent source exception, an unlawful search does not invalidate a subsequent search if (1) the issuance of the search warrant is based on untainted, independently obtained information and (2) the State’s decision to seek the warrant is not motivated by the previous unlawful search and seizure. Here, there is no dispute that the search warrant application to obtain bank records was based on untainted evidence and did not contain any information learned from the illegal search and seizure. Because it is not clear that [285]*285the trial court used the correct legal standard in analyzing the independent source exception, and the court did not address the question of whether the State’s decision to seek the warrant was motivated by evidence obtained in the previous unlawful search, we remand.

FACTS

¶2 Michael Miles worked for Primerica Financial Services as an insurance salesman. Julie Gillette works as a teacher. Gillette met Miles in 1998 through a friend. Although he was not licensed to sell securities, Miles purported to be a securities broker and investment manager. Miles told Gillette that he was an investment specialist with an expertise in commodities and that he could achieve much higher returns than she was receiving from her current investments. Miles said that he could double her money in 12 to 18 months. According to Gillette, Miles also told her that she would never be able to buy property or send her children to college if she did not change her investment strategy. After Gillette repeatedly told Miles that she was reluctant to invest her money with him, “[Miles] told me he would write a letter documenting the fact that the principle [sic] would be guaranteed. This was the most important statement he made which swayed me to invest.”

¶3 A document written on the letterhead of “MM Miles,” dated October 23, 1999, verifies that on that date Gillette invested $85,000 with Miles for 12 to 18 months to “maximize growth and income” by using “Initial Investment Strategy: Options in stocks/commodities.” The document sets forth his guarantee to return the principal to Gillette.

MM Miles is a private investment firm created to maximize profits for its clients by using heretofore non-traditional methods with a minimum of risk. To such an end MM Miles guarantees the return of principal to all who are involved with the program. While we cannot guarantee actual results we do on a regular basis double our clients!’] profits over a twelve to [286]*286eighteen month period. We are able to that [sic] because we use strategies that continually keep us in markets that are making excellent moves as opposed to the traditional buy and hold philosophy that governs most people [’]s investment attempts at investing. This type of environment will not last forever but we make the most of it while we can. MM Miles manages and invests directly, we do not necessarily use mutual funds or any one particular investment. It gives us a flexibility with our clients [’] funds that allow us to maximize profits.

¶4 Gillette wrote checks to MM Miles in 1999 totaling $124,000: a check dated October 23, 1999 for $85,000, a check dated November 1, 1999 for $27,000, and a check dated December 7, 1999 for $12,000. Miles endorsed and deposited each of the checks into his account with Washington Mutual Bank. Despite repeated requests, Miles did not provide any investment statements to Gillette. However, Miles repeatedly assured Gillette that he would return the money she invested.

¶5 On April 23, 2001, Gillette filed a complaint against Miles with the Securities Division. Gillette provided a sworn statement, a copy of the guarantee, and copies of the three checks that she wrote to MM Miles in 1999.

¶6 On June 13, 2001, the Securities Division issued an administrative subpoena, as authorized under ROW 21.20.380, to Washington Mutual Bank for Miles’s bank records from January 1996 through June 2001.* 1 The Securities Division did not inform Miles about the subpoena and [287]*287instructed Washington Mutual to not do so. Washington Mutual complied with the subpoena and produced the records. The bank records showed that between 1997 and May 2001, Miles defrauded a number of women, including Gillette, of nearly $400,000. The bank records also showed that Miles used the money he obtained for investments to pay living expenses and to make partial payments to some of the victims.

¶7 In November 2003, the State charged Miles with eight counts of securities fraud, several counts of intimidation and tampering with a witness, one count of forgery, and three counts of theft. The information described in detail his scheme to defraud the eight women.

¶8 Miles filed a motion to suppress the bank records and the evidence obtained by means of the administrative subpoena, “with the exception of Ms. Gillette’s testimony and the initial records tendered [by Gillette].” The defense argued that the administrative subpoena violated his right to privacy under article I, section 7 of the Washington State Constitution. The court ruled that the bank records were protected under article I, section 7, but denied the motion to suppress based on the “pervasively regulated industry” warrant exception.2

¶9 The Washington State Supreme Court reversed.3 The court held that without prior judicial review, issuance of an administrative subpoena under the Securities Act violated article I, section 7 of the Washington State Constitution. However, the court expressly notes that the State “already validly possessed the canceled checks from Gillette along with her statement, which supports the filing of some charges.”4

¶10 After the mandate issued, the State filed an application for a search warrant to obtain bank records limited [288]*288to Gillette’s initial complaint. The State asked the court to issue a search warrant to Washington Mutual Bank for Miles’s bank records for only November and December 1999.

¶11 In support of the search warrant, the State submitted the affidavit of Detective Chris Hansen of the Seattle Police Department Fraud, Forgery, and Financial Exploitation Unit, and the affidavit of a senior King County prosecuting attorney from the Fraud Division.

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Bluebook (online)
159 Wash. App. 282, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-miles-washctapp-2011.