State v. Scott

966 N.E.2d 85, 2012 Ind. App. LEXIS 280, 2012 WL 682081
CourtIndiana Supreme Court
DecidedMarch 1, 2012
DocketNo. 36A04-1108-CR-419
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 966 N.E.2d 85 (State v. Scott) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Scott, 966 N.E.2d 85, 2012 Ind. App. LEXIS 280, 2012 WL 682081 (Ind. 2012).

Opinion

OPINION

BAKER, Judge.

Appellant-plaintiff State of Indiana (State) appeals the trial court’s grant of appellee-defendant Mershaun W. Scott’s motion to suppress. The State argues that the police officer at the scene had the requisite reasonable suspicion to approach Scott and later arrest him after smelling burnt marijuana in the vehicle. As a result, the State maintains that none of the police officer’s actions violated Scott’s rights under either the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution (Fourth Amendment) or Article 1, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution.

We concur with the trial court’s conclusion that the police officer violated Scott’s right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment when the police officer detained Scott and retained Scott’s driver’s license for an unreasonable period of time without any reasonable suspicion that Scott had committed a criminal offense. The record also supports the conclusion that Scott was seized and was not free to leave during the encounter with the police officer. Thus, we [87]*87affirm the trial court’s grant of Scott’s motion to suppress.

FACTS

On April 27, 2010, at approximately 9:00 a.m., Indiana State Trooper Randell Miller was parked in a median near mile marker 54 on Interstate 65 (1-65) observing southbound traffic. At some point, Trooper Miller clocked the driver of a BMW with a Tennessee license plate at fifty-six miles per hour in a seventy-mile-per-hour zone.

As the BMW approached, Trooper Miller observed the driver, who was later identified as Scott, a black male, slow the vehicle to fifty miles per hour. Trooper Miller also thought that Scott was trying to “hide behind the pillar of the vehicle.” Appellant’s App. p. 16. Trooper Miller began following Scott and saw him drive to a McDonald’s Restaurant. Trooper Miller waited at a nearby Circle K gas station and watched Scott proceed to the McDonald’s drive-thru window.

Scott then drove to the Circle K to eat his food and purchase some cigarettes and gasoline. When Scott returned to his vehicle, he telephoned his grandfather. At some point, Scott began pumping gas and Trooper Miller approached him. Trooper Miller had been watching Scott for nearly fifteen minutes before walking up to him.

Trooper Miller asked Scott if “everything was ok,” because he had seen him driving fifty miles per hour on 1-65. Appellant’s App. p. 16. Trooper Miller also asked Scott if he had been wearing his seatbelt. Scott responded that his tires were bald and was trying to be careful. Ex. 1; Ex. 2. Trooper Miller then asked Scott what he did for a living and inquired as to whether he had a “good license.” Ex. 2. At Trooper Miller’s request, Scott handed him his Illinois driver’s license. While holding the license, Trooper Miller asked Scott more questions and told him that he would be “good to go,” if his license “checked out normally.” Ex. 2. However, prior to performing a computer check on his license, Trooper Miller continued to question Scott about the year of his vehicle, the cost of it, and asked what he did for a living.

Scott eventually opened the door to his vehicle and retrieved his registration. At some point, Trooper Miller smelled the odor of burnt marijuana. Trooper Miller then asked Scott to accompany him to his squad car. Once inside, Trooper Miller read Scott his Miranda rights. Scott told Trooper Miller that his brother had borrowed the vehicle and claimed that there was no marijuana inside. Trooper Miller then called for a canine unit after Scott refused consent to a search his vehicle. Trooper Miller also noticed that Scott had a “green-filmy” tongue that commonly occurs when a person smokes marijuana. The canine alerted to the presence of drugs after performing a “sweep” of the vehicle. The officers subsequently discovered a small quantity of marijuana inside the vehicle. Ex. 1, p. 15,19.

Scott then told the officers that there was a handgun inside the trunk of the vehicle. A portion of the serial number was obliterated, and Scott claimed that he purchased the weapon at a gun show, and that he had wrapped tape on the gun to keep a loose screw in place. Scott also admitted to the police officers that he was on his way to deliver the marijuana to his girlfriend in Tennessee.

On May 18, 2010, the State charged Scott with possession of an altered handgun, a class C felony, and possession of marijuana, a class A misdemeanor. Thereafter, on March 8, 2011, Scott filed a motion to suppress all evidence that was seized from the vehicle and the statements that Scott had made to the police officers. [88]*88Scott argued that he did not commit any illegal behavior and, therefore, Trooper Miller did not have grounds to stop him. Thus, Scott claimed that the warrantless stop and subsequent search could not be justified as a valid exception to the Fourth Amendment’s search warrant requirement. Scott also claimed that the search was illegal under Article 1, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution. Following a hearing on July 20, 2011, the trial court granted Scott’s motion to suppress. The State now appeals.

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

I. Standard of Review

We review a trial court’s decision to grant a motion to suppress similar to other sufficiency of the evidence matters. State v. Lucas, 859 N.E.2d 1244, 1248 (Ind.Ct. App.2007). When conducting such a review, we will not reweigh evidence or judge witness credibility. State v. Moriarity, 832 N.E.2d 555, 558 (Ind.Ct.App.2005). In such cases, the State is appealing from a negative judgment and must show that the trial court’s ruling on the motion to suppress was contrary to law. State v. Estep, 753 N.E.2d 22, 24-25 (Ind.Ct.App. 2001). We will reverse a negative judgment only when the evidence is without conflict and all reasonable inferences lead to a conclusion opposite that of the trial court. Id. at 25.

II. The State’s Contentions

The State contends that the trial court erred in granting Scott’s motion to suppress because the encounter between Scott and Trooper Miller was consensual. Thus, the Fourth Amendment was not implicated and no seizure occurred until after Trooper Miller smelled the marijuana, which amounted to probable cause to arrest Scott. As a result, the State argues that Trooper Miller did not violate Scott’s right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure.

The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution protects the privacy and possessory interests of individuals by prohibiting unreasonable searches and seizures. Berry v. State, 704 N.E.2d 462, 464 (Ind.1998). Fourth Amendment protections apply when a person has an actual subjective expectation of privacy and the expectation is one that society is prepared to recognize as reasonable. Alexander v. State, 947 N.E.2d 966, 967 (Ind.Ct.App.2011).

In general, an officer’s approach and questioning of an individual that does not involve a detention in a public place is outside the purview of the Fourth Amendment.

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Bluebook (online)
966 N.E.2d 85, 2012 Ind. App. LEXIS 280, 2012 WL 682081, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-scott-ind-2012.