State v. Page

CourtIdaho Court of Appeals
DecidedJanuary 14, 2020
Docket46352
StatusUnpublished

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

Bluebook
State v. Page, (Idaho Ct. App. 2020).

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF IDAHO

Docket No. 46352

STATE OF IDAHO, ) ) Filed: January 14, 2020 Plaintiff-Respondent, ) ) Karel A. Lehrman, Clerk v. ) ) THIS IS AN UNPUBLISHED LENA KAYE PAGE, ) OPINION AND SHALL NOT ) BE CITED AS AUTHORITY Defendant-Appellant. ) )

Appeal from the District Court of the Sixth Judicial District, State of Idaho, Bannock County. Hon. Robert C. Naftz, District Judge.

Judgment of conviction for possession of methamphetamine, vacated; order denying motion to suppress, reversed; and case remanded.

Eric D. Fredericksen, State Appellate Public Defender; Brian R. Dickson, Deputy Appellate Public Defender, Boise, for appellant. Brian R. Dickson argued.

Hon. Lawrence G. Wasden, Attorney General; Kenneth K. Jorgensen, Deputy Attorney General, Boise, for respondent. Kenneth K. Jorgensen argued. ________________________________________________

BRAILSFORD, Judge Lena Kaye Page appeals from her judgment of conviction for possession of methamphetamine, Idaho Code § 37-2732(c)(1). She asserts the district court erred in denying her motion to suppress and abused its discretion by failing to correct portions of her presentence investigation report (PSI). For the reasons set forth below, we reverse the district court’s order denying Page’s motion to suppress, vacate the judgment of conviction, and remand. I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND Shortly before 12 a.m. on July 11, 2017, Idaho State Troopers Morey Wade and Jeff Fortner saw a car driven by Page pull over to the side of the road and stop. Trooper Wade pulled behind Page’s car, activated his rear warning lights, and informed dispatch he was “doing a motorist assist.” The troopers’ encounter with Page is captured on a video taken by the patrol

1 car’s dash camera. The video begins with Page outside of her car on the driver’s side and Trooper Fortner approaching Page and meeting her at the back of her car. After a brief exchange, the video’s audio begins and Trooper Fortner is heard directing Trooper Wade to “take her back here for a second,” after which Page joins Trooper Wade in front of the patrol car. While Trooper Fortner approaches Page’s car and engages with her passenger, Trooper Wade questions Page in front of the patrol car for approximately four minutes. During that time, Trooper Wade inquires whether Page has any weapons and she responds she has a screwdriver in her pocket, touching the outside of her right pocket to indicate the screwdriver’s location. Trooper Fortner then returns from engaging Page’s passenger and directs Page to stand with Trooper Fortner off the roadway. At this point, Trooper Fortner asks Page for her identification, and she responds she does not have any identification but gives her name. While Trooper Wade returns to the patrol car to check Page’s identity, Trooper Fortner continues questioning Page and, after a few minutes, walks her to the front of the patrol car, turns her to face the patrol car, and has her place her hands behind her head. Trooper Fortner then pats Page down and begins pushing items out of her right pocket. After about a minute of pushing items out of Page’s right pocket, Trooper Fortner handcuffs Page. While doing so, Trooper Fortner turns Page to face the roadside so only her right side is visible on the video. Trooper Fortner then places his hand in Page’s right pocket and removes the screwdriver. He then searches Page’s left pocket, which is no longer in the dash camera’s view, and directs Page to “to look to the right” away from the search. While searching Page’s left pocket, Trooper Fortner exclaims “there we go, there we go” and reaches to the ground to pick up an item, which is later determined to be a baggie containing methamphetamine. Trooper Fortner continues to search Page and question her for a few more minutes before Trooper Wade places Page in the backseat of the patrol car. During this time, Page is videoed by the patrol car’s rear camera directed at the backseat. Approximately ten minutes after placing Page in the patrol car, Trooper Wade reads Page her Miranda 1 warnings. As a result of this encounter, the State charged Page with felony possession of methamphetamine and she moved to suppress all the evidence seized and “any and all statements” she made. The district court denied Page’s motion. The court ruled the troopers’ initial contact with Page was justified under their community caretaking function. Further, the

1 Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966). 2 court ruled the troopers developed reasonable suspicion to continue to detain Page to investigate further because “[t]he circumstances known to the troopers . . . provided reasonable suspicion to believe that some criminal activity was afoot.” Finally, the district court ruled Page’s behavior, coupled with her admission she had a screwdriver in her pocket, supported Trooper Fortner’s reasonable belief that Page was armed and dangerous and justified the frisk. After the district court denied Page’s motion to suppress, she entered a conditional guilty plea, expressly reserving her right to appeal the denial of her motion to suppress. Pursuant to the plea agreement, the State agreed to recommend probation for Page. After pleading guilty, she was released on her own recognizance pending sentencing, violated the terms of her release, and was re-incarcerated. She was later released but again violated the terms of her release and was re-incarcerated. During sentencing, the State recommended the district court retain jurisdiction instead of recommending probation for Page. The district court ruled the State was free to make whatever recommendation it wanted because Page had violated the plea agreement but, regardless, the court imposed a unified four-year sentence with a one-year determinate term and placed her on probation. Additionally during sentencing, Page noted purported inaccuracies in her PSI, including an inaccurate recitation of the facts in that section of the PSI entitled “Official Version,” which sets forth facts apparently derived from the police report. The district court, however, did not make note of these inaccuracies in the PSI. Page timely appeals the district court’s failure to note the inaccuracies in the PSI’s “Official Version” section and the denial of her motion to suppress. II. ANALYSIS A. Page Preserved Her Right to Appeal the Denial of Her Motion to Suppress As an initial matter, the State argues Page may not appeal the denial of her motion to suppress. She expressly preserved her right to appeal the denial as a condition of her guilty plea. The State, however, argues Page breached her plea agreement and, as a result, the State contends it no longer “consents” to Page’s appeal. We disagree that the State may preclude Page’s appeal. Regardless of Page’s breach of her plea agreement, the record clearly shows the parties at all times proceeded with the understanding that Page maintained her right to challenge the denial of her motion to suppress despite any breach. The only written document in the record

3 memorializing Page’s guilty plea is a form “Guilty Plea Questionnaire,” which she completed and signed. 2 In response to the question asking Page to identify the terms of the plea agreement, she indicates she understands the terms to be that: “[Page to] plead guilty, parties can argue sentence, joint recommendation--probation.

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Bluebook (online)
State v. Page, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-page-idahoctapp-2020.