State v. Stephens

917 So. 2d 667, 2005 WL 3409627
Louisiana Court of Appeal·Decided December 14, 2005·No. 40,343-KA·Published·Cited by 16 cases

Opinion

917 So.2d 667 (2005)

STATE of Louisiana, Appellee
v.
Greg P. STEPHENS, Appellant.

No. 40,343-KA.

Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Second Circuit.

December 14, 2005.
Rehearing Denied January 19, 2006.

*670 Davenport, Files & Kelly, L.L.P. by Carey B. Underwood, Davenport, for Appellant.

William Robert Coenen, Jr., District Attorney, Johnny R. Boothe, Penny Wise Douciere, Assistant District Attorneys, for Appellee.

Before BROWN, C.J., and CARAWAY and LOLLEY, JJ.

CARAWAY, J.

With the state's agreement to dismiss charges of possession of marijuana and bail jumping, Greg Stephens entered a Crosby plea[1] to the crime of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute (La. R.S. 40:967) and received an agreed-upon sentence of ten years at hard labor. This appeal contests the trial court's ruling against the defendant on his motion to suppress. For the following reasons, we affirm.

Facts

The motion to suppress was tried without the presentation of testimony by either side. The following facts were submitted to the trial court at the hearing from the Affidavit of Probable Cause for Arrest:

On 3-9-03 at approximately 11:30 A.M. [t]his officer received information that Gregory Stephens was at the residence of Deshay Roberts located at 8353 Hwy 562. The caller advised that Stephens was at the residence under the carport working on a motorcycle. The caller further stated that Stephens had Methamphetamine in his possession. It *671 was known that there were outstanding warrants for Stephens for Probation Violations. Myself, along with Deputy Kenneth Alexander, Deputy Mark Jones and Deputy Tony Roberts went to the residence to attempt to arrest the subject. Upon our arrival, Stephens was found under the carport hiding behind a garbage dumpster. Stephens was placed under arrest and during a search of his person, a small plastic bag of suspected Marijuana was found when it fell out his pants. A black and orange backpack was found on the porch near Stephens. Stephens stated that the bag did not belong to him until it was opened and papers inside the bag had his name on them. He then changed his story and admitted that it was his. In this same backpack, approximately 24 grams of suspected Methamphetamine was discovered along [with] drug paraphernalia. There was also a Taurus 38 special nickel plated revolver in the backpack.

Additionally, the parties agreed to the submission of photographs of the arrest location into evidence. The photos depict an open garage adjacent to the front porch of the house. One entrance to the porch was directly accessible from the garage by climbing four wooden stairs. The porch is screened, and the opening of a screen door was required to gain access from the garage where Stephens was arrested to the porch. The photos showed a chair immediately beyond the screen door and the backpack located in the chair can clearly be seen through the screen door from the garage.

The trial court denied the motion to suppress, finding that Stephens had no constitutionally recognized reasonable expectation of privacy in the backpack he left on the porch. On February 15, 2005, Stephens entered a guilty plea to the crime of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute with an agreed sentence of ten years at hard labor in exchange for dismissal of other pending charges. Stephens reserved his right to appeal the denial of the motion to suppress and this appeal ensued.

On appeal, Stephens urges that the trial court erred in failing to consider that Louisiana law allows him to raise the privacy violation of the owner of the residence, and also in concluding that Stephens consented to a search of the backpack by not objecting to the deputy's request. The state contends that no reasonable expectation of individual privacy exists within the front porch of another's dwelling, that the backpack was abandoned and that the search of the backpack was a proper search incident to arrest.

Discussion

The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution protects "[the] right of people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures." U.S. Const. amend. IV. Similarly, the provisions of the Louisiana Constitution Article 1, § 5 provide as follows:

Every person shall be secure in his person, property, communications, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches, seizures, or invasions of privacy. No warrant shall issue without probable cause supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, the persons or things to be seized, and the lawful purpose or reason for the search. Any person adversely affected by a search or seizure conducted in violation of this Section shall have standing to raise its illegality in the appropriate court.

Both the United States and Louisiana constitutions prohibit unreasonable searches and seizures of constitutionally-protected locations and a warrant based *672 upon probable cause is normally required for such a search to be conducted. The capacity to claim the protection of the Fourth Amendment depends upon whether the person who claims the protection has a legitimate expectation of privacy in the invaded place. Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347, 88 S.Ct. 507, 19 L.Ed.2d 576 (1967); State v. Edwards, 00-1246 (La.6/1/01), 787 So.2d 981.

It is well settled that a search and seizure conducted without a warrant issued on probable cause is per se unreasonable unless the warrantless search and seizure can be justified by one of the narrowly drawn exceptions to the warrant requirement. State v. Thompson, 02-0333 (La.4/9/03), 842 So.2d 330; State v. Tatum, 466 So.2d 29 (La.1985). When the constitutionality of a warrantless search or seizure is placed at issue by a motion to suppress the evidence, the state bears the burden of proving the admissibility of any evidence seized without a warrant. La. C.Cr.P. art. 703(D). Such exceptions to the warrant requirement include the plain view doctrine, search incident to a lawful arrest and abandonment.

A warrantless seizure of an item that comes within plain view of an officer in a legitimate position to view the item may also be reasonable under the Fourth Amendment. Coolidge v. New Hampshire, 403 U.S. 443, 91 S.Ct. 2022, 29 L.Ed.2d 564 (1971); State v. Guiden, 399 So.2d 194 (La.1981), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 1150, 102 S.Ct. 1017, 71 L.Ed.2d 305 (1982). The plain view doctrine renders a warrantless search reasonable: (1) if the police officer is lawfully in the place from which he views the object; (2) where the object's incriminating character is immediately apparent; and (3) the officer has a lawful right of access to the object. Horton v. California, 496 U.S. 128, 110 S.Ct. 2301, 110 L.Ed.2d 112 (1990); State v. Guiden, supra; State v. Willis, 36,759 (La. App.2d Cir.4/9/03), 843 So.2d 592, writ denied, 04-1219 (La.4/1/05), 897 So.2d 593.

After making an arrest, an officer has the right to much more thoroughly search a defendant and his wing span, or lunge space, for weapons or evidence incident to a valid arrest. State v. Sanders, 36,941 (La.App.2d

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

State v. Stephens, 917 So. 2d 667, 2005 WL 3409627 (La. Ct. App. 2005).

917 So. 2d 667 (State v. Stephens) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

State of Louisiana v. Marcus Jackson
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2024
State v. Moultrie
182 So. 3d 1017 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2015)
State v. Brock
91 So. 3d 1003 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2012)
State v. Patterson
38 So. 3d 1131 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2010)
State v. Brown
35 So. 3d 1069 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2010)
State v. Prosen
19 So. 3d 590 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2009)
State of Louisiana v. Rejena S. Prosen
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2009
State of Louisiana v. Johnathan L. Prosen
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2009
State v. Conway
992 So. 2d 494 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2008)
State v. Sims
973 So. 2d 177 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2007)
State v. Duplessis
974 So. 2d 65 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2007)
State v. Smith
960 So. 2d 369 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2007)
State v. Warren
949 So. 2d 1215 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2007)
State v. Wallace
950 So. 2d 135 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2007)
State v. Lawrence
925 So. 2d 727 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2006)