428 P.3d 70
Utah Ct. App.2018Background
- Layton police stopped a car for expired registration; vehicle had been unregistered for ~1 year. Driver and front-seat passenger (Isaac Tirado) were present.
- Officer ran records checks; learned of driver’s outstanding registration warrant and information suggesting Tirado was a gang member and drug user. Officer decided to impound the car and gave the driver a citation instead of arresting him.
- Layton Police Department policy required inventorying all property in impounded vehicles; officers commonly photograph contents rather than list each item. Officers told occupants they could retrieve items and returned a backpack and some personal items before impound.
- During inventory between passenger seat and console officers found methamphetamine, a semi-transparent pill bottle bearing Tirado’s name (which contained oxycodone and a bag with a brown tar substance believed to be heroin), and marijuana; Tirado was arrested. Drugs were seized as evidence and not listed on the impound form, but photos of the vehicle’s contents were taken.
- Tirado moved to suppress; the district court denied the motion on two independent grounds (automobile exception and lawful inventory search). Tirado entered a conditional guilty plea reserving the right to appeal the suppression ruling.
Issues
| Issue | State's Argument | Tirado's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether inventory search of impounded vehicle complied with policy and Fourth Amendment | Officers substantially complied with inventory policy by photographing contents; impoundment was lawful | Officers failed to follow policy (did not list items, opened containers improperly), so inventory search invalid | Court held impoundment and inventory lawful; photographing satisfied substantial compliance; container opening permitted under policy |
| Whether opening the semi-transparent pill bottle was permitted | Opening containers during inventory is allowed under standardized procedures; officers suspected contraband in bottle | Opening the pill bottle violated policy/expectation of privacy; should have returned prescriptions | Court held opening the bottle permissible—pill bottle is a container and officer acted consistently with policy because bottle suggested contraband |
| Whether searches of items returned before impound (backpack, other items) taint inventory search | Items returned prior to impound did not remain with vehicle so did not need to be inventoried; backpack search yielded nothing used in prosecution | Search of backpack and some handling inconsistent with policy and relevant to suppression | Court treated backpack search as separate; because it produced no evidence used, it did not affect validity of inventory search |
| Whether inventory was pretext for investigatory search given officer’s subjective suspicion | Even if officer hoped to find evidence, mixed motives do not invalidate a lawful inventory conducted according to policy | Officer’s decision to impound was influenced by suspicions about Tirado, making inventory a pretextual investigatory search | Court held mixed motives do not invalidate search when legal basis to impound existed and substantial compliance with policy occurred |
Key Cases Cited
- South Dakota v. Opperman, 428 U.S. 364 (1976) (upholds warrantless inventory searches of impounded vehicles to protect property, officers, and police liability)
- Colorado v. Bertine, 479 U.S. 367 (1987) (police may open closed containers during standardized inventory searches)
- Florida v. Wells, 495 U.S. 1 (1990) (inventory searches must not be a ruse for general investigatory searches)
- State v. Hygh, 711 P.2d 264 (Utah 1985) (inventories require lawful impoundment and substantial compliance with established procedures)
- State v. Lopez, 873 P.2d 1127 (Utah 1994) (pretext-stop doctrine rejected for traffic stops but pretext remains relevant in inventory-search analysis)