State v. Powell

325 P.3d 1162, 299 Kan. 690, 2014 WL 2557127, 2014 Kan. LEXIS 269
CourtSupreme Court of Kansas
DecidedJune 6, 2014
DocketNo. 102,749
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 325 P.3d 1162 (State v. Powell) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Powell, 325 P.3d 1162, 299 Kan. 690, 2014 WL 2557127, 2014 Kan. LEXIS 269 (kan 2014).

Opinion

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Biles, J.:

Ryan Powell was convicted of felony theft and felony criminal damage to property. He seeks review of a Court of Appeals decision affirming the district court’s denial of his motion to suppress evidence obtained through a search warrant authorizing the seizure of his blood, hair, fingerprints, and buccal (cheek) cells. State v. Powell, 45 Kan. App. 2d 1090, 257 P.3d 1244 (2011). Powell argues the district court erred because: (1) After it found the warrant lacked the required probable cause, it applied the United States v. Leon, 468 U.S. 897, 104 S. Ct. 3405, 82 L. Ed. 2d 677 (1984), good-faith exception to the exclusionary rule and permitted the illegally seized evidence to be used at trial; and (2) K.S.A. 22-2502 does not expressly authorize search warrants for blood, hair, fingerprints, cheek cells, or other biological material. We reverse Powell’s convictions and remand the case to the district court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

We hold the district court erred by not suppressing the evidence. The Leon good-faith exception cannot save the search because it [692]*692was objectively unreasonable for die officer to rely on the warrant. In so holding, we do not reach Powell’s alternative argument that K.S.A. 22-2502 does not permit the court-ordered seizure of biological material. We note, however, this presents a question of first impression for this court and may merit further legislative consideration given the lack of express statutoiy language.

Factual and Procedural Background

In July 2007, a Greenwood County Sheriff s Department patrol car was stolen from a locked compound and found wrecked in a ditch the following morning. Officers collected hair and tissue samples from the cracked windshield, hair from the rearview mirror, and blood from die vehicle’s interior. In September, officers sought a search warrant for “samples of [Powell’s] blood, hair, and oral swabs as well as fingerprint samples.”

The affidavit supporting die search warrant did not indicate DNA evidence had been recovered from the patrol vehicle or otherwise explain why blood, hair samples, buccal cell swabs, and fingerprints were sought in a case involving a stolen vehicle. It summarized a police interview widi Powell, who denied involvement with the crime. It went on to explain that a detective had suggested Powell submit to a DNA test “to prove his innocence” and tiiat Powell at first declined, but then agreed, to give a voluntary sample. The affidavit stated Powell failed to report for the test. The affidavit also mentioned three anonymous phone calls. Each claimed Powell was involved in the theft.

The first anonymous caller told the sheriffs office dispatch she “pretty much [knew] for 100% sure” that Powell was involved in the car theft. During the second call, an anonymous caller told the Greenwood County Crime Stoppers hotline tiiat another named individual drove the stolen patrol car and that Powell was a passenger. In a third call, an anonymous tipster told the Crime Stoppers hotline that Powell had told the caller Powell was involved with the theft. It is not clear whether the calls were placed by the same person.

The affidavit also discussed the detective’s questioning of Powell at Powell’s workplace. Powell told the detective the night tire car [693]*693was stolen was his last night on bond supervision and that he would not have done anything to get in trouble. The detective observed that he drought it odd Powell would be able to remember the exact date in question because the detective did not mention the date during questioning. The detective also noted Powell originally said he learned about the theft from the newspaper but then later claimed to have learned about it from others. Powell’s wife told tire detective they read about the crime in the newspaper.

A district court judge approved and signed the warrant. Hair and oral swabs were collected from Powell, and a medical professional drew his blood. The State then charged Powell with involvement in the theft.

Powell filed a motion to suppress the biological material, arguing the warrant lacked probable cause and the Leon good-faith exception to the exclusionary rule did not apply because there was so little indicia of probable cause in the warrant that an officer could not objectively reasonably rely on it. Powell also argued K.S.A. 22-2502, which is the statutory authority for a judge to issue search warrants, does not permit law enforcement to obtain a warrant to seize blood, hair, fingerprints, or cheek cells.

After a hearing on the suppression motion, the same district court judge who signed tire warrant determined it lacked probable cause. The judge found the affidavit failed to specify that officers had DNA material from the stolen car that could be compared to any samples taken from Powell. The judge held the warrant would have been “a good search warrant” if that information had been included.

But despite ruling the search was illegal, the district court admitted the evidence under tire Leon good-faith exception because it determined the officers acted in good faith and reasonably relied on the warrant. See Leon, 468 U.S. at 906-07 (sanction for a Fourth Amendment violation should weigh the costs and benefits of preventing the prosecution’s use of illegally seized evidence). The district court also held the broad language of K.S.A. 22-2502(a)(l) indicates a warrant can be issued for biological material even though blood, hair, cheek cells, and fingerprints are not specified [694]*694in the statute as instrumentalities of a crime or normally considered property.

Following the suppression hearing, Powell stipulated that his DNA profile from the samples taken from him would match the DNA of the biological material found in the stolen patrol car. Powell agreed to a bench trial on stipulated facts, and the district court found him guilty of felony theft and felony criminal damage to property. He was sentenced to two concurrent 6-month prison terms, granted probation, and ordered to pay over $20,000 in restitution.

Powell appealed to the Court of Appeals. He argued the good-faith exception was inapplicable because the affidavit in support of the search warrant had “little indicia of probable cause,” citing the failure to explain that law enforcement had biological material from the car to compare with Powell’s samples. The panel rejected this argument, concluding that while the affidavit did not affirmatively specify that officers had DNA material for comparison, it implied as much when it stated Powell had initially agreed to provide DNA samples. Powell, 45 Kan. App. 2d at 1094-95.

The panel also rejected Powell’s argument that K.S.A. 22-2502

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
325 P.3d 1162, 299 Kan. 690, 2014 WL 2557127, 2014 Kan. LEXIS 269, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-powell-kan-2014.