State v. Woinarowicz

2006 ND 179, 720 N.W.2d 635, 2006 N.D. LEXIS 181, 2006 WL 2360187
CourtNorth Dakota Supreme Court
DecidedAugust 16, 2006
Docket20060032
StatusPublished
Cited by79 cases

This text of 2006 ND 179 (State v. Woinarowicz) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering North Dakota 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. Woinarowicz, 2006 ND 179, 720 N.W.2d 635, 2006 N.D. LEXIS 181, 2006 WL 2360187 (N.D. 2006).

Opinions

MARING, Justice.

[¶ 1] Jami Woinarowicz appeals from her conviction entered upon a conditional plea of guilty to charges of possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver and possession of drug paraphernalia. Woinarowicz claims evidence discovered during a search of the hotel room should have been suppressed, and the district court erred in allowing hearsay testimony at the suppression hearing. We affirm Woinarowicz’s conviction.

I

[IT 2] On April 25, 2005, Fargo Police Officer Robert Stanger and two other officers were dispatched to the Holiday Inn after employees reported “suspicious activity” in one of the rooms. Hotel employees told the officers that a female, who they believed was under the influence of drugs, paid cash to rent a room at 11:30 p.m. The employees noticed a lot of activity coming and going from the room, including someone bringing a 22 inch PVC pipe and a gas can into the room.

[¶ 3] The officers knocked on the door to the hotel room. Woinarowicz and Randy Novak were the only people in the hotel room at that time. Officer Stanger testified Novak answered the door, Officer Stanger asked for the woman the room was registered to and Novak told him she had returned to Grand Forks. According to Officer Stanger, he asked Novak if the officers could enter the room and Novak said “yes.” Woinarowicz disputed Officer Stanger’s version of the events; she testified the officers knocked on the door, No-vak opened it and the officers pushed their way in. She also claimed Novak told the officers they could not enter the room.

[¶ 4] According to Officer Stanger, after the officers entered the room, he asked if he could search the room and Novak said “yes.” Officer Stanger searched the bathroom and found some burned plastic in the bottom of the trash can. Officer Stanger testified he believed the burned plastic was a methamphetamine “bindle,” which drug users make by placing a small amount of methamphetamine in a piece of plastic and then burning the plastic so it shrivels into a small ball encasing the drug.

[¶ 5] Officer Stanger informed the room’s occupants that he found what he believed was evidence of methamphetamine activity. The officers blocked the door, and Novak and Woinarowicz were informed that they were being detained pending further investigation. Officer Stanger handcuffed and searched Woina-rowicz and Novak. While searching Woi-narowicz’s purse, Officer Stanger found a large purple cloth bag and heard the sound of metal or glass clinking. Officer Stanger opened the purple bag and found a pipe containing methamphetamine residue. Officer Stanger informed Woinarowicz she was under arrest for possession of the pipe. Officer Stanger continued searching Woinarowicz’s purse and found five ounces of methamphetamine.

[¶ 6] Woinarowicz was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. She moved to suppress the evidence seized during the search of the hotel room arguing the officers illegally entered the hotel room, the officers illegally seized her without probable cause, and the officers illegally searched her and her purse. The district court denied her [640]*640motion to suppress, concluding the officers had consent to enter and search the hotel room, the officers had probable cause to arrest Woinarowicz, and the officers searched her purse incident to a lawful arrest. Woinarowicz conditionally pled guilty to the charges, reserving her right to appeal the denial of her motion to suppress.

II

[¶ 7] Woinarowicz argues Officer Stan-ger’s testimony at the suppression hearing about Novak giving the officers consent to enter the hotel room was hearsay and the district court erred in admitting that testimony. Relying on Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36, 124 S.Ct. 1354, 158 L.Ed.2d 177 (2004), she also argues that she was denied her Sixth Amendment right to confront the witness because No-vak was not available to testify at the suppression hearing.

A

[¶ 8] The Confrontation Clause of the U.S. Const, amend. VI, states, “[i]n all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right ... to be confronted with the witnesses against him.... ” The Confrontation Clause provides two protections to criminal defendants: the right to physically face someone who testifies against them, and the right to cross examine. Pennsylvania v. Ritchie, 480 U.S. 39, 51, 107 S.Ct. 989, 94 L.Ed.2d 40 (1987). In Crawford, the United States Supreme Court held, “[w]here testimonial evidence is at issue, ..., the Sixth Amendment demands what the common law required: unavailability and a prior opportunity for cross-examination.” Crawford, 541 U.S. at 68, 124 S.Ct. 1354; see also Davis v. Washington, — U.S. —, —, 126 S.Ct. 2266, 2273, 165 L.Ed.2d 224 (2006). Woinarowicz argues Novak’s statement to law enforcement officers giving them consent to enter the hotel room is a testimonial statement, and therefore her Sixth Amendment right to confront the witness was violated because she did not have a prior opportunity to cross examine Novak.

[¶ 9] Although Woinarowicz argues that Crawford applies to suppression hearings, the United States Supreme Court has said, “the process due at a suppression hearing may be less demanding and elaborate than the protections accorded the defendant at the trial itself.” United States v. Raddatz, 447 U.S. 667, 679, 100 S.Ct. 2406, 65 L.Ed.2d 424 (1980). “[T]he right of confrontation does not apply to the same extent at pretrial suppression hearings as it does at trial.” United States v. Boyce, 797 F.2d 691, 693 (8th Cir.1986). “[T]he right to confrontation is a trial right,.... ” Ritchie, 480 U.S. at 52, 107 S.Ct. 989 (emphasis in original). See also Barber v. Page, 390 U.S. 719, 725, 88 S.Ct. 1318, 20 L.Ed.2d 255 (1968). In McCray v. Illinois, the United States Supreme Court held a defendant’s Sixth Amendment rights were not violated when, at a pretrial hearing, the court allowed officers to testify to what a confidential informant told them, even though the confidential informant was not testifying at the pretrial hearing and the informant’s identity was not disclosed. McCray v. Illinois, 386 U.S. 300, 312-13, 87 S.Ct. 1056, 18 L.Ed.2d 62 (1967). The Court said the prosecution did not need to call a confidential informant at the pretrial hearing to satisfy the defendant’s confrontation rights; it was enough that the officers testified, under oath, and were subject to cross examination. Id.

[¶ 10] In the past we have applied the Sixth Amendment’s Confrontation Clause to suppression hearings saying, “a hearing on a motion to suppress is a critical stage of the prosecution, and that the Confronta[641]*641tion Clause of the Sixth Amendment guarantees an accused the right to confront witnesses against him at a hearing.” State v. Mondo, 325 N.W.2d 201, 203 (N.D.1982).

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

Related

State v. Gores
2025 ND 194 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 2025)
State v. Moen
2025 ND 163 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 2025)
State v. Walter Byrd
Court of Appeals of Georgia, 2025
Chatman v. Sayler
D. North Dakota, 2022
State v. Carrillo
2021 ND 239 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 2021)
In Re: The PEOPLE of the State of Colorado v. Juan Johnny HERNANDEZ
488 P.3d 1055 (Supreme Court of Colorado, 2021)
State v. Ezzell
Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2021
State v. Terrill
2018 ND 78 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 2018)
Sam v. State
2017 WY 98 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2017)
State v. Hall
2017 ND 124 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 2017)
State v. Glenn T. Zamzow
2017 WI 29 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2017)
State v. Mercier
2016 ND 160 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 2016)
State v. Chatman
2015 ND 296 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 2015)
Oscar Pineda v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2015
Commonwealth v. Ricker
120 A.3d 349 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 2015)
State v. Williams
2015 ND 103 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 2015)
State v. Lopez
2013 NMSC 47 (New Mexico Supreme Court, 2013)
State v. Nickel
2013 ND 155 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 2013)
State v. Vondal
2011 ND 186 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 2011)
Brandvold v. Lewis and Clark Public School District
2011 ND 185 (North Dakota Supreme Court, 2011)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2006 ND 179, 720 N.W.2d 635, 2006 N.D. LEXIS 181, 2006 WL 2360187, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-woinarowicz-nd-2006.