John Davison Nies, II v. State, 557 S.W.3d 642

Appellant John Davison Nies II was charged with possession of <1 gram of methamphetamine; two prior felonies enhanced punishment.
Nies moved to suppress evidence obtained from a warrantless search of his vehicle; no ruling was made before trial started.
Parties stipulated to Officer Matthew Moczygemba’s report: Nies was stopped for speeding, discovered to have a suspended license, arrested, placed in the patrol car, and instructed that his vehicle be towed.
Before the wrecker arrived, deputies conducted an inventory/search of the vehicle; a deputy slid back the sunroof shade and found a small container with methamphetamine.
The trial court denied the suppression motion; Nies waived a jury and pled guilty pursuant to a negotiated plea; the court assessed punishment at five years.
On appeal the court considered whether the warrantless search fit any exception to the Fourth Amendment warrant requirement and reversed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (Nies)	Defendant's Argument (State)	Held
Whether the warrantless vehicle search was lawful under a recognized exception (search incident to arrest, automobile exception, or inventory)	Search was unlawful; search-incident-to-arrest inapplicable because Nies was secured; no probable cause for automobile exception; no evidence an inventory policy existed or was followed	Search was a valid inventory search (and other exceptions argued), so warrantless seizure and opening of container was lawful	Reversed: search not justified. Search-incident-to-arrest failed under Gant; no probable cause for automobile exception; State failed to prove a compliant inventory policy/procedure was in place or followed, so suppression should have been granted.

St. George v. State, 237 S.W.3d 720 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007) (bifurcated standard of review for suppression rulings)
Turrubiate v. State, 399 S.W.3d 147 (Tex. Crim. App. 2013) (de novo review of law application to facts)
Tucker v. State, 369 S.W.3d 179 (Tex. Crim. App. 2012) (trial court factual findings receive almost total deference)
Arizona v. Gant, 556 U.S. 332 (2009) (vehicle searches incident to arrest limited when occupants are secured)
McGee v. State, 105 S.W.3d 609 (Tex. Crim. App. 2003) (warrantless searches presumptively unreasonable absent an established exception)
Keehn v. State, 279 S.W.3d 330 (Tex. Crim. App. 2009) (automobile exception requires probable cause to search)
Gutierrez v. State, 221 S.W.3d 680 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007) (probable cause standard for vehicle searches)
Colorado v. Bertine, 479 U.S. 367 (1987) (inventory-search exception protects owner and police and must follow standard procedures)
Florida v. Wells, 495 U.S. 1 (1990) (opening closed containers during inventories is lawful only under a standardized policy)
Jackson v. State, 468 S.W.3d 189 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2015) (inventory-search requirements and burden on State to prove policy existence and compliance)