United States v. Fernando Obregon

748 F.2d 1371, 1984 U.S. App. LEXIS 16783
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
DecidedNovember 13, 1984
Docket83-2464
StatusPublished
Cited by124 cases

This text of 748 F.2d 1371 (United States v. Fernando Obregon) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Fernando Obregon, 748 F.2d 1371, 1984 U.S. App. LEXIS 16783 (10th Cir. 1984).

Opinion

BARRETT, Circuit Judge.

Fernando Obregon (Obregon) appeals from a judgment and probation/commitment order rendered after Obregon entered a conditional plea of guilty pursuant to Rule 11(a)(2), Fed.Rules Cr.ProC., 18 U.S.C.

Obregon pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and interstate travel in aid of racketeering in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1952(a)(3). Within his conditional plea Obregon reserved the right to appeal the district court’s adverse rulings on his motions to suppress statements, physical evidence, oral or written statements, and his motion to dismiss. The parties stipulated that Obregon would be allowed to withdraw his guilty plea if he prevailed on appeal. A summary of the relevant facts will facilitate our review.

On July 3, 1983, Obregon was driving a rented 1983 Mercury westbound on Interstate 40 when he was stopped at a roadblock set up by the New Mexico State Police near Moriarty, New Mexico. The roadblock had been established to conduct routine driver’s license and car registration checks, and to afford training to two members of the New Mexico Mounted Patrol, an auxiliary of the New Mexico State Police.

After Obregon stopped, he was ap.proached by Officer Faison. Upon determining that Obregon was driving a rented ear with expired license plates and that Obregon’s name was not on the car rental contract, Officer Faison, concerned that the car might be stolen, requested that Obre-gon park the car on the shoulder of the interstate. Officer Faison then advised Obregon that they were having a training roadblock and that he wanted to search the car. Obregon gave his oral and written consent. Officer Faison then searched the car and removed a ■ garment bag. Upon opening the garment bag, Officer Faison discovered clothing and personal items and a tape-sealed cardboard box. Officer Fai-son opened the box and discovered three separate bags of cocaine inside.

Upon discovering the cocaine, Officer Faison placed Obregon under arrest and advised him of his Miranda rights. Obregon stated that he did not wish to make a statement and that he wished to speak with a lawyer. Officer Faison subsequently took Obregon to the New Mexico State Police Office in Moriarty. While at the Moriarty office, Officer Faison was joined by Narcotics Agent Bustamonte who conducted a field test of the cocaine and took custody of the box and cocaine. Agent Bustamonte, accompanied by Agent Wallsmith, met with Obregon for the purpose of obtaining written confirmation that he had in fact been advised of his rights. Agent Bustamonte read Obregon his rights from a written form. 1 Obregon then waived his right to counsel and right to remain silent *1374 by signing the form. Thereafter, Obregon gave Agent Bustamonte a statement of the circumstances under which he had been transporting the cocaine.

Prior to trial Obregon moved to suppress the physical evidence seized at the time of his arrest and the statements he made to Agent Bustamonte. After a hearing, the court denied .Obregon’s motions, finding that Obregon had voluntarily consented to the search of the car he was driving and that Obregon had made an effective waiver of both his right to remain silent and his right to consult an attorney. The court also denied Obregon’s subsequent motions to reopen the suppression hearing, to suppress oral and written statements, and to ■ dismiss. In so doing, the court reiterated its prior findings that Obregon had voluntarily consented to the search of the rental car and its contents. The court also found that Obregon’s motion to suppress the statements of Agent Bustamonte was not timely filed in accordance with Rule 12(c). Finally, in denying Obregon’s motion to dismiss, the court found that the Government’s inability to locate the cardboard box containing cocaine found in Obregon’s garment bag did not prejudice Obregon to the extent that the case should be dismissed.

Following the court’s disposition of Obre-gon’s pretrial motions, and prior to the commencement of trial, Obregon entered a conditional plea of guilty, reserving the right to appeal the court’s adverse rulings on his pretrial motions. On appeal, Obre-gon raises six allegations of error, posited as follows: (1) the defendant had a legitimate expectation of privacy in the vehicle he was driving and in his possessions within that vehicle; (2) the detention of the defendant in this case was not supported by reasonable suspicion; (3) the Government did not prove that the defendant consented to the searches and seizures; (4) even if the defendant voluntarily consented to the search, this consent did not overcome the taint of the unlawful detention; (5) the defendant’s statements obtained after he invoked his right to counsel must be suppressed; and (6) the destruction of evidence, material to the defense, denied the' defendant a fair trial.

I.

Obregon contends that he had a legitimate expectation of privacy in the vehicle he was driving and in his possessions within that vehicle, and therefore had Fourth Amendment standing to challenge the propriety of the search of those possessions. Obregon cites to Rakas v. Illinois, 439 U.S. 128, 99 S.Ct. 421, 58 L.Ed.2d 387 (1978) and Jones v. United States, 362 U.S. 257, 80 S.Ct. 725, 4 L.Ed.2d 697 (1960) for the proposition that he had a legitimate expectation of privacy in the rented car he was driving at the time of his arrest even though his interest in the rented car may not have been a recognized property interest at common law.

In finding that Obregon did not have standing to challenge the stop and subsequent search of the car on Fourth Amendment grounds, the district court relied upon Rakas v. Illinois for the basic propositions that Fourth Amendment rights are personal rights which cannot be vicariously asserted and that a defendant’s legitimate expectation of privacy must be determined in light of the facts and circumstances of each case. The district court found specifically:

Defendant had the keys to the car and may have had permission from the renter of the car to use it, but this is not determinative of the standing inquiry in this case. Defendant was driving a rented vehicle and was not named on the rental agreement or any other documents, either as the renter or as an authorized driver. Defendant made no showing that any arrangement had been made with the rental car company that would have allowed him to drive the car legitimately. Indeed, the defendant testified that he waited outside of Miami airport while an unrelated third party arranged the rental of the car. Defendant’s relationship to the rented car is too attenuated to support a claim of standing. (R., Vol. I at pp. 55-56.)

Although counsel have not cited, and our own research has not produced, any opinion directly on point, i.e., whether a. defendant *1375

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

Related

United States v. Willis
826 F.3d 1265 (Tenth Circuit, 2016)
United States v. Gregory Sanford
806 F.3d 954 (Seventh Circuit, 2015)
United States v. Oliver Gayle
608 F. App'x 783 (Eleventh Circuit, 2015)
STATE v. MARCUM
2014 OK CR 1 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Oklahoma, 2014)
State v. Jackson
42 So. 3d 368 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2010)
United States v. Timothy Brown
Seventh Circuit, 2009
United States v. Orduna-Martinez
491 F. Supp. 2d 1021 (D. Kansas, 2007)
Hembree v. State
2006 WY 127 (Wyoming Supreme Court, 2006)
United States v. Gordon
65 F. Supp. 2d 365 (E.D. Virginia, 1999)
People v. Bower
685 N.E.2d 393 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1997)
State v. Toolen
945 S.W.2d 629 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1997)
United States v. Alexander Ries
43 F.3d 1484 (Tenth Circuit, 1994)
United States v. Sherman L. Wellons, Jr.
32 F.3d 117 (Fourth Circuit, 1994)
United States v. David Thomas Rhodes
30 F.3d 142 (Tenth Circuit, 1994)
United States v. Edelmiro Augustin Fernandez
18 F.3d 874 (Tenth Circuit, 1994)
People v. Lane
628 N.E.2d 682 (Appellate Court of Illinois, 1993)
United States v. Adela Morales-Zamora
974 F.2d 149 (Tenth Circuit, 1992)
United States v. Ignacio Pinedo-Montoya
966 F.2d 591 (Tenth Circuit, 1992)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
748 F.2d 1371, 1984 U.S. App. LEXIS 16783, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-fernando-obregon-ca10-1984.