United States v. Unrue

22 C.M.A. 466
United States Court of Military Appeals·Decided September 21, 1973·No. No. 26,552·Published·Cited by 2 cases

Opinions

OPINION OF THE COURT

Quinn, Judge:

Appellant contends that at his trial for wrongful possession of heroin the judge erroneously denied a motion to suppress cellophane packages of heroin found on his person during a search.

Colonel Latham was the Commanding Officer of the 197th Infantry Brigade which was stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia. The brigade occupied an area in the fort known as Kelly Hill. Some months previous to the search in issue, the incidence of drug use in the brigade rose "dramatically;” on the average, there were about 30 cases a quarter. In addition, brigade personnel were implicated in about 25 larcenies a quarter; in 100 percent of the "solved” cases of theft, the offender was involved with drugs. To counter these conditions and their consequences, Colonel Latham instituted a multifaceted program, which included more vigorous encouragement of recourse to the general amnesty policy for voluntary disclosure of drug involvement; the operation of an "extensive program” of education by lecture and demonstration by former drug users; and a roadblock inspection system whose execution was entrusted to Major Jarrell, the brigade intelligence officer, under a "mission order” to "prevent the introduction of narcotics into Kelly Hill.”

The roadblock system utilized two roadblocks, or checkpoints, established on a random basis, on one or another of the roads on the post providing access to Kelly Hill. At the first checkpoint, vehicles were stopped, and a check was made of the driver’s license and the vehicle’s registration. No inspection was made of vehicle or person. However, all occupants were expressly advised to read a sign at the checkpoint. The sign measured about 5-Í4 by 3 feet and contained the following legend:

[468]*468Attention, narcotics check, with narcotics dogs. Drop all drugs here and no questions asked. Last Chance.

A receptacle, described as an "amnesty” barrel, was located under the sign. A person manning the checkpoint informed all occupants of the vehicle that the vehicle would be stopped again at the second checkpoint, about 30 feet down the road. Everyone was given the opportunity to dispose of any drug in his possession, without "punitive action,” by dropping it in the amnesty barrel before the vehicle moved on to the next stop. At the second checkpoint, under Colonel Latham’s instructions, "vehicles and persons” were to be searched "if there was any indication of cause.” To determine whether there was cause, a dog was walked around the vehicle, with the occupants still inside. The dog had been trained to "alert” to the odor of marijuana. If the dog alerted, the vehicle and passengers were searched; if it did not alert, the vehicle and occupants were allowed to proceed without further inspection.

The dog had two kinds of alert. One was called a "dead” alert, which meant marijuana had been present but removed, leaving only a residual odor to which the dog responded but as to which he could not fix an exact location. The second alert was characterized as a "true” alert because the dog’s response indicated the physical presence of marijuana at a pinpointed location. Colonel Latham’s instruction was that a search was to be made "if the dog alerts,” without qualification as to the kind of alert. Previously, the colonel had witnessed "demonstrations specifically set up” to determine the dog’s efficiency and reliability in the detection of marijuana, and he had seen the dog in "actual operation;” on each occasion, the dog had "found what was hidden.” As a result, Colonel Latham concluded that the dog was "a primary device to determine probable cause” for search of a vehicle and its occupants at the second checkpoint of the inspection system.

On September 1, 1971, a roadblock was established on Marne Road, an access road to Kelly Hill. At approximately 11:30 p.m., a car, in which the accused was one of several passengers, stopped at the first checkpoint and went through the procedure described earlier. The vehicle and its occupants moved, without incident, from the first stop to the second checkpoint. At this stop were the dog, Rex, his handler, Staff Sergeant Ragan, Major Jarrell, and Major Curl, the Brigade Field Officer of the Day, who had come to witness Rex’s performance. As soon as the vehicle stopped at the checkpoint, Rex alerted. With Rex, Ragan circled the car. Through the walkaround, Rex was in a true alert. Thereupon, the occupants of the car were asked to get out and step to one side, and remain in a group. Rex was allowed to put his head inside the vehicle, and he continued his alert, which indicated to Ragan "the area” of Rex’s interest. Ragan "pushed the seat up” and found some fine vegetable matter on the carpet, and some "cigarette rolling paper.” At Ragan’s request, Major Jarrell authorized him to search the occupants. In the ensuing search of the accused, several packets of heroin were discovered in his wallet. It was these packets that the accused sought to keep from being introduced in evidence by the Government.

The Fourth Amendment prohibits "unreasonable” search and seizure. It applies in the military as well as in the civilian community. As in the civilian community, therefore, the test of the legality of an intrusion by the Government into the individual’s person or private effects is whether the action by the Government was, in the circumstances, reasonable. United States v Hartsook, 15 USCMA 291, 35 CMR 263 (1965); United States v Battista, 14 USCMA 70, 33 CMR 282 (1963). A search of one’s person predicated upon voluntary consent is reasonable, whether or not there is probable cause to believe that evidence of a crime is present. Certain Army regulations provide for a search at the gateway to a military installation or facility, without regard to probable cause. A commander is authorized, for example, to search persons and vehicles upon their entry and exit from non-restricted areas, but the authority is circumscribed:

[If] a person refuses to be searched upon entry, he should not be searched over his objection but should be denied [469]*469access to the post. Searches of persons while on or upon leaving the installation may be made in accordance with paragraph 2-1, or .2-2 [those based upon probable cause and those conducted with a commander’s prior authorization, e.g., search incident to a lawful apprehension, emergency situation, or those with consent of the individual to be searched and public areas] or upon military necessity. (Emphasis added.)

AR 190-22, paragraph 2-3b, June 12, 1970.1

A search elsewhere than at the gateway to designated areas must be justified by probable cause or other circumstances, such as military necessity, which demonstrate that the search is reasonable. See AR 210-10, paragraph l-15a. The various regulations suggest that a general exploratory search on entry into a particular military area must rest upon consent. Here, the roadblocks were not set up at the gates of Fort Benning, or any other specially designated area, but were randomly maintained inside the post, and their purpose was to subject persons and vehicles to inspection, without consent. The roadblock system was not, therefore, sanctioned by any of the Army regulations cited to us or of which we are aware.

As there was no consent to the search, the question is whether the roadblock and the manner of its execution were otherwise reasonable and, therefore, constitutionally valid.

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United States v. Unrue, 22 C.M.A. 466 (cma 1973).

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