State v. Rogers, 297 Neb. 265

Background

On Aug. 5, 2015, Lincoln police approached a parked vehicle connected to a person wanted on a federal indictment; the vehicle had three occupants, including Rogers in the back seat.
The lead officer approached a different nearby vehicle first, observed the front-seat passenger reach under his seat, and then turned attention to the vehicle containing Rogers because the driver was a known narcotics contact.
Three officers and a fugitive task force member arrived; the front-seat passenger was arrested on a warrant after all occupants were ordered out of the vehicle.
While occupants were out, the lead officer saw a purse on the rear floor with a small plastic bag protruding; consent to search was denied and a drug dog was summoned and alerted on the driver’s side.
Officers searched the vehicle, recovered a purse and a pipe that tested positive for amphetamines; Rogers was identified as owner of the purse and charged with possession.
Rogers moved to suppress; the district court denied the motion (finding escalation from tier‑one to tier‑two seizure supported by reasonable suspicion). She was convicted by a jury and sentenced to 20 months to 5 years; the Nebraska Supreme Court affirmed.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether the encounter became a seizure when occupants were ordered out	Rogers: the encounter became a seizure once the wanted person was ruled out and passengers were detained; no reasonable suspicion supported detention	State: initial contact was tier‑one and lawfully escalated to tier‑two when officers directed occupants out given surrounding circumstances	Court: Ordering occupants out, amid multiple officers and an arrest, was a seizure (tier‑two); lawful only if supported by reasonable suspicion, which existed
Whether officers had reasonable suspicion to detain and conduct a dog sniff	Rogers: officers only had a hunch based on driver’s associations; insufficient to detain	State: furtive movement under seat, driver’s known narcotics contacts, intelligence from assisting officers, and observed baggie gave articulable grounds	Court: Totality of circumstances—reach under seat, driver’s narcotics ties, and visible baggie—provided reasonable suspicion; dog sniff and subsequent search were lawful
Admissibility of evidence seized after dog alert	Rogers: evidence was fruit of illegal detention/search and should be suppressed	State: detention and dog sniff were supported by reasonable suspicion and led to probable cause after dog alert	Court: Drug dog sniff was timely; dog alert provided probable cause for search; evidence admissible
Whether the sentence was excessive	Rogers: court failed to meaningfully consider mitigating factors and justify an upper-range sentence	State: sentence within statutory limits and sentencing court considered appropriate factors	Court: Sentence within statutory limits; no abuse of discretion in sentencing

Key Cases Cited

State v. Milos, 294 Neb. 375 (discussing tiered police‑citizen encounters and seizure analysis)
State v. Tyler, 291 Neb. 920 (standards for determining when a seizure occurs)
State v. Loding, 296 Neb. 670 (review of suppression rulings and seizure issues)
State v. Van Ackeren, 242 Neb. 479 (tiers of police‑citizen encounters)
State v. Hedgcock, 277 Neb. 805 (officer request to exit vehicle may be seizure depending on circumstances)
State v. Au, 285 Neb. 797 (definition of reasonable suspicion)
State v. Wells, 290 Neb. 186 (totality‑of‑circumstances test for reasonable suspicion)
State v. Voichahoske, 271 Neb. 64 (furtive movements contributing to reasonable suspicion)
Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648 (Fourth Amendment limits on vehicle stops and seizures)