United States v. Victor Chalk, Jr. And Preston Eugene Dobbins

441 F.2d 1277, 1971 U.S. App. LEXIS 10341
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
DecidedMay 6, 1971
Docket14711
StatusPublished
Cited by49 cases

This text of 441 F.2d 1277 (United States v. Victor Chalk, Jr. And Preston Eugene Dobbins) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fourth 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. Victor Chalk, Jr. And Preston Eugene Dobbins, 441 F.2d 1277, 1971 U.S. App. LEXIS 10341 (4th Cir. 1971).

Opinion

CRAVEN, Circuit Judge:

On September 29, 1969, after a battle between police officers and black students at the Asheville High School, the mayor of Asheville, North Carolina, issued a proclamation that a state of emergency within the meaning of North Carolina General Statutes § 14-288.-1(10) existed within the City of Ashe-ville. Under the authority of Asheville City Ordinance No. 613, enacted - pursuant to North Carolina General Statutes § 14-288.12, the mayor’s proclamation banned possession off one’s own premises of dangerous weapons, explosives, or ammunition; banned all marches, parades, assemblies, or demonstrations on public property; and banned the sale of and consumption (off one’s own premises) of alcoholic beverages. A short time later the mayor issued a second proclamation imposing a curfew from 9 p. m. to 6 a. m. The state of emergency was redeclared and the nighttime curfew reimposed each day until terminated by the mayor on October 2, 1969.

At approximately 11 p. m. on September 30, 1969, an automobile driven by Victor Chalk, owned by Preston Dobbins, and in which Dobbins was riding as a passenger, was stopped by Highway Patrol Officer Jennings at an intersection within the Asheville city limits. Chalk and Dobbins were placed under arrest for curfew violation. As Chalk stepped out of the automobile, Jennings saw what appeared to be the butt end of a shotgun partially covered by some papers on the floor behind the front seat. *1279 He reached into the automobile and pulled out the stock and trigger mechanism of a 12-gauge shotgun. After Chalk and Dobbins were placed in custody, a further search of the interior of the automobile by Jennings and other police officers revealed the barrel of the shotgun beneath the papers on the floor, one 12-gauge shotgun shell on the back seat, and a roll of dynamite fuse in the glove compartment.

Chalk, Dobbins, and Dobbins’ automobile were taken to the Asheville police station. A search of Dobbins at the police station produced four 12-gauge shotgun shells, two in each sock. Local and state police officers, joined by Federal Agent McGuire of the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Division, conducted a thorough search of Dobbins’ automobile. Five dynamite caps were found in a glasses case in the glove compartment. Among the items discovered in the trunk were a quart of charcoal lighter fluid, a soft-drink bottle, a book of matches, a bar of soap, a piece of cloth, and a paper bag containing particles of gunpowder. The items found in Dobbins’ automobile formed the basis for Chalk and Dobbins’ arrest, indictment, and subsequent conviction for possession of a firearm, i. e., a combination of materials from which an incendiary bomb could be readily produced and which were intended for such use, absent the registration required by 26 U.S.C. § 5841 in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 5861(d). 1

The only issue presented for review is appellants’ claim that they are entitled to acquittal or a new trial because the evidence seized from Dobbins’ automobile should have been suppressed.

I.

They contend first that the search of the automobile was contrary to the Fourth Amendment prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures. At' the time of the search, the Asheville police had in their possession a search warrant issued by a state superior court judge under the authority of North Carolina General Statutes § 14-288.11, which authorized the search of all vehicles entering or approaching Asheville for weapons. We need not consider appellants’ arguments that the affidavit on which the warrant was obtained was insufficient, that the warrant unlawfully authorized general searches, or that Dobbins’ automobile was not “entering or approaching the City of Asheville” as the warrant specified. Assuming the warrant invalid, the search was amply supportable on a theory of probable cause which itself was sufficient to make this automobile search an entirely reasonable one. Boone v. Cox, 433 F.2d 343 (4th Cir. 1970).

Because of its mobility, a search of an automobile without a warrant is reasonable if it is based on probable cause. Carroll v. United States, 267 U.S. 132, 45 S.Ct. 280, 69 L.Ed. 543 (1924); Brinegar v. United States, 338 U.S. 160, 69 S.Ct. 1302, 93 L.Ed. 1879 (1949). If there is probable cause to search the automobile at the place where it was stopped, it matters not that the search is conducted sometime later after the automobile has been transported to the police station. Chambers v. Maroney, 399 U.S. 42, 90 S.Ct. 1975, 26 L.Ed.2d 419 (1970).

The mayor’s proclamation declaring a state of emergency made appellants’ possession of a shotgun and ammunition a misdemeanor. At the time of Chalk’s arrest, the butt of the shotgun was in the plain view of the arresting officers and thus subject to seizure. Harris v. United States, 390 U.S. 234, 88 S.Ct. 992, 19 L.Ed.2d 1067 (1968). We think the discovery of the stock of the shotgun entitled the arresting officers to conclude that the automobile probably also contained the shotgun barrel and ammunition. When the second search was conducted at the police station, the searching officers knew that the car had *1280 already been found to contain a shotgun, a shotgun shell, and a roll of dynamite fuse. They also knew Dobbins had concealed shotgun shells in each of his socks. Clearly they had probable cause to search the car for additional weapons or explosives.

II.

Appellants contend alternatively that the search was unlawful because it was triggered by the mayor’s overbroad and unlawful restrictions (specifically, the curfew). Appellants’ attack is two-pronged: (1) that the statutory scheme authorizing the mayor's declaration of a state of emergency is vague and sweeps overbroadly into areas of constitutionally protected activity; and (2) that there was an insufficient threat to public safety to allow the mayor to impose the restrictions that he did.

We think the challenge to the constitutionality of the statutory scheme is without merit. “Control of civil disorders that may threaten the very existence of the State is certainly within the police power of government.” Stotland v. Pennsylvania, 398 U.S. 916, 920, 90 S.Ct. 1552, 1555, 26 L.Ed.2d 83 (1970) (Douglas, J. dissenting from the dismissal of an appeal for lack of a substantial federal question).

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

Related

Jeffery v. City of New York
Second Circuit, 2024
Tinius v. Choi
District of Columbia, 2022
COUNTY OF BUTLER v. THOMAS W. WOLF
W.D. Pennsylvania, 2020
South Bay United Pentecostal C v. Gavin Newsom
959 F.3d 938 (Ninth Circuit, 2020)
Cole v. City of Memphis
97 F. Supp. 3d 947 (W.D. Tennessee, 2015)
Menotti v. City of Seattle
409 F.3d 1113 (Ninth Circuit, 2005)
Sale Ex Rel. Sale v. Goldman
539 S.E.2d 446 (West Virginia Supreme Court, 2000)
Hodge Ex Rel. Hodge v. Lynd
88 F. Supp. 2d 1234 (D. New Mexico, 2000)
Daniel Schleifer v. City Of Charlottesville
159 F.3d 843 (Fourth Circuit, 1998)
Smith v. Avino
91 F.3d 105 (Eleventh Circuit, 1996)
Smith v. Avino
866 F. Supp. 1399 (S.D. Florida, 1994)
People v. Juan C.
28 Cal. App. 4th 1093 (California Court of Appeal, 1994)
People v. Continola
15 Cal. App. Supp. 4th 20 (Appellate Division of the Superior Court of California, 1993)
Moorhead v. Farrelly
727 F. Supp. 193 (Virgin Islands, 1989)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
441 F.2d 1277, 1971 U.S. App. LEXIS 10341, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-victor-chalk-jr-and-preston-eugene-dobbins-ca4-1971.