State of Indiana v. Dejon Pitchford
2016 Ind. App. LEXIS 273
| Ind. Ct. App. | 2016Background
- On May 8, 2015, Dejon Pitchford was arrested for misdemeanor battery and taken to the Marion County Arrestee Processing Center.
- Marion County Deputy Mark Bunch conducted a department-authorized strip search under a policy permitting strip searches when certain criteria (e.g., reasonable suspicion of weapons/contraband, crimes of violence) are met.
- The strip search included removal of clothing, inspection of mouth, armpits, genitals, and a requirement to bend and spread buttocks; Pitchford complied until refusing the bending/spreading step.
- Deputies attempted to restrain Pitchford; during the struggle a plastic bag protruding from his buttocks was observed and recovered, testing positive for cocaine and heroin.
- Pitchford was charged with possession of cocaine and narcotic, and resisting arrest; he moved to suppress the evidence from the strip search as unlawful under Article 1, Section 11 of the Indiana Constitution.
- The trial court granted the suppression motion; the State appealed. The Court of Appeals affirmed.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument (State) | Defendant's Argument (Pitchford) | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the warrantless strip search was lawful under Article 1, §11 of the Indiana Constitution | The search was lawful because Pitchford was arrested for battery (a crime of violence) and Florence permits strip searches of arrestees; county policy authorized the search | The search was a routine, warrantless strip search of a misdemeanor arrestee without reasonable suspicion of concealing weapons/contraband, violating Article 1, §11 | The strip search was unconstitutional under Article 1, §11. Edwards controls: warrantless strip searches of misdemeanor arrestees require reasonable suspicion of concealed weapons/contraband; no such suspicion existed here, so suppression affirmed. |
Key Cases Cited
- Edwards v. State, 759 N.E.2d 626 (Ind. 2001) (routine warrantless strip searches of misdemeanor arrestees are unreasonable; strip searches require reasonable suspicion under Article 1, §11)
- Florence v. Bd. of Chosen Freeholders of Burlington Cnty., 132 S. Ct. 1510 (U.S. 2012) (Fourth Amendment does not categorically bar strip searches of persons entering jails, including those arrested for minor offenses)
- Litchfield v. State, 824 N.E.2d 356 (Ind. 2005) (state constitutional reasonableness analysis can be more protective than the Fourth Amendment)
- Bryant v. State, 959 N.E.2d 315 (Ind. Ct. App. 2011) (upholding strip search where officers had probable cause/reasonable suspicion of narcotics)
- White v. State, 24 N.E.3d 535 (Ind. Ct. App. 2015) (strip search upheld where lingering odor of marijuana gave reasonable suspicion of contraband)
- Frye v. State, 757 N.E.2d 684 (Ind. Ct. App. 2001) (strip search justified where facts created reasonable suspicion of contraband)
- Thompson v. State, 824 N.E.2d 1265 (Ind. Ct. App. 2005) (good-faith exception does not apply to warrantless searches; criticized strip-search practices where other problems existed)