ARIZONA v. HICKS
No. 85-1027
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued December 8, 1986—Decided March 3, 1987
480 U.S. 321
Linda A. Akers, Assistant Attorney General of Arizona, argued the cause for petitioner. With her on the briefs were Robert K. Corbin, Attorney General, Steven A. LaMar, Assistant Attorney General, and Steven J. Twist, Chief Assistant Attorney General.
John W. Rood III, by appointment of the Court, 476 U. S. 1113, argued the cause for respondent. With him on the brief was James H. Kemper.*
*David Crump, Daniel B. Hales, William C. Summers, Jack E. Yelverton, Fred E. Inbau, Wayne W. Schmidt, and James P. Manak filed a brief for Americans for Effective Law Enforcement, Inc., et al. as amici curiae urging reversal.
In Coolidge v. New Hampshire, 403 U. S. 443 (1971), we said that in certain circumstances a warrantless seizure by police of an item that comes within plain view during their lawful search of a private area may be reasonable under the
I
On April 18, 1984, a bullet was fired through the floor of respondent‘s apartment, striking and injuring a man in the apartment below. Police officers arrived and entered respondent‘s apartment to search for the shooter, for other victims, and for weapons. They found and seized three weapons, including a sawed-off rifle, and in the course of their search also discovered a stocking-cap mask.
One of the policemen, Officer Nelson, noticed two sets of expensive stereo components, which seemed out of place in the squalid and otherwise ill-appointed four-room apartment. Suspecting that they were stolen, he read and recorded their serial numbers—moving some of the components, including a Bang and Olufsen turntable, in order to do so—which he then reported by phone to his headquarters. On being advised that the turntable had been taken in an armed robbery, he seized it immediately. It was later determined that some of the other serial numbers matched those on other stereo equipment taken in the same armed robbery, and a warrant
William J. Taylor, George Kannar, and Burt Neuborne filed a brief for the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation as amicus curiae urging affirmance.
The state trial court granted respondent‘s motion to suppress the evidence that had been seized. The Court of Appeals of Arizona affirmed. It was conceded that the initial entry and search, although warrantless, were justified by the exigent circumstance of the shooting. The Court of Appeals viewed the obtaining of the serial numbers, however, as an additional search, unrelated to that exigency. Relying upon a statement in Mincey v. Arizona, 437 U. S. 385 (1978), that a “warrantless search must be ‘strictly circumscribed by the exigencies which justify its initiation,‘” id., at 393 (citation omitted), the Court of Appeals held that the police conduct violated the
II
As an initial matter, the State argues that Officer Nelson‘s actions constituted neither a “search” nor a “seizure” within the meaning of the
Officer Nelson‘s moving of the equipment, however, did constitute a “search” separate and apart from the search for
III
The remaining question is whether the search was “reasonable” under the
On this aspect of the case we reject, at the outset, the apparent position of the Arizona Court of Appeals that because the officers’ action directed to the stereo equipment was unrelated to the justification for their entry into respondent‘s apartment, it was ipso facto unreasonable. That lack of relationship always exists with regard to action validated under the “plain view” doctrine; where action is taken for the purpose justifying the entry, invocation of the doctrine is superfluous. Mincey v. Arizona, supra, in saying that a warrantless search must be “strictly circumscribed by the exigencies which justify its initiation,” 437 U. S., at 393 (citation omitted), was addressing only the scope of the primary
We turn, then, to application of the doctrine to the facts of this case. “It is well established that under certain circumstances the police may seize evidence in plain view without a warrant,” Coolidge v. New Hampshire, 403 U. S., at 465 (plurality opinion) (emphasis added). Those circumstances include situations “[w]here the initial intrusion that brings the police within plain view of such [evidence] is supported by one of the recognized exceptions to the warrant requirement,” id., such as the exigent-circumstances intrusion here. It would be absurd to say that an object could lawfully be seized and taken from the premises, but could not be moved for closer examination. It is clear, therefore, that the search here was valid if the “plain view” doctrine would have sustained a seizure of the equipment.
There is no doubt it would have done so if Officer Nelson had probable cause to believe that the equipment was stolen. The State has conceded, however, that he had only a “reasonable suspicion,” by which it means something less than probable cause. See Brief for Petitioner 18-19.* We have not ruled on the question whether probable cause is required in order to invoke the “plain view” doctrine. Dicta in Payton v. New York, 445 U. S. 573, 587 (1980), suggested that the standard of probable cause must be met, but our later opinions in Texas v. Brown, 460 U. S. 730 (1983), explicitly regarded the issue as unresolved, see id., at 742, n. 7 (plurality opinion); id., at 746 (STEVENS, J., concurring in judgment).
We now hold that probable cause is required. To say otherwise would be to cut the “plain view” doctrine loose from its theoretical and practical moorings. The theory of that doctrine consists of extending to nonpublic places such as the
We do not say, of course, that a seizure can never be justified on less than probable cause. We have held that it can—where, for example, the seizure is minimally intrusive and operational necessities render it the only practicable means of detecting certain types of crime. See, e. g., United States v. Cortez, 449 U. S. 411 (1981) (investigative detention of vehicle suspected to be transporting illegal aliens); United States v. Brignoni-Ponce, 422 U. S. 873 (1975) (same); United States v. Place, 462 U. S. 696, 709, and n. 9 (1983) (dictum) (seizure of suspected drug dealer‘s luggage at airport to permit exposure to specially trained dog). No special operational necessities are relied on here, however—but rather the mere fact that the items in question came lawfully within the officer‘s plain view. That alone cannot supplant the requirement of probable cause.
The same considerations preclude us from holding that, even though probable cause would have been necessary for a seizure, the search of objects in plain view that occurred here
JUSTICE O‘CONNOR‘S dissent suggests that we uphold the action here on the ground that it was a “cursory inspection” rather than a “full-blown search,” and could therefore be justified by reasonable suspicion instead of probable cause. As already noted, a truly cursory inspection—one that involves merely looking at what is already exposed to view, without disturbing it—is not a “search” for
JUSTICE POWELL‘S dissent reasonably asks what it is we would have had Officer Nelson do in these circumstances. Post, at 332. The answer depends, of course, upon whether he had probable cause to conduct a search, a question that was not preserved in this case. If he had, then he should have done precisely what he did. If not, then he should have followed up his suspicions, if possible, by means other than a search—just as he would have had to do if, while walking along the street, he had noticed the same suspicious stereo equipment sitting inside a house a few feet away from him, beneath an open window. It may well be that, in such circumstances, no effective means short of a search exist. But there is nothing new in the realization that the Constitution sometimes insulates the criminality of a few in order to protect the privacy of us all. Our disagreement with the dissenters pertains to where the proper balance should be struck; we choose to adhere to the textual and traditional standard of probable cause.
The State contends that, even if Officer Nelson‘s search violated the
For the reasons stated, the judgment of the Court of Appeals of Arizona is
Affirmed.
JUSTICE WHITE, concurring.
I write only to emphasize that this case does not present, and we have no occasion to address, the so-called “inadver-
JUSTICE POWELL, with whom THE CHIEF JUSTICE and JUSTICE O‘CONNOR join, dissenting.
I join JUSTICE O‘CONNOR‘S dissenting opinion, and write briefly to highlight what seem to me the unfortunate consequences of the Court‘s decision.
Today the Court holds for the first time that the requirement of probable cause operates as a separate limitation on the application of the plain-view doctrine.1 The plurality opinion in Coolidge v. New Hampshire, 403 U. S. 443 (1971),
The officers’ suspicion that the stereo components at issue were stolen was both reasonable and based on specific, articulable facts. Indeed, the State was unwise to concede the absence of probable cause. The police lawfully entered respondent‘s apartment under exigent circumstances that arose when a bullet fired through the floor of the apartment struck a man in the apartment below. What they saw in the apartment hardly suggested that it was occupied by law-abiding citizens. A .25-caliber automatic pistol lay in plain view on the living room floor. During a concededly lawful search, the officers found a .45-caliber automatic, a .22-caliber, sawed-off rifle, and a stocking-cap mask. The apartment was littered with drug paraphernalia. App. 29. The officers also observed two sets of expensive stereo components of a type that frequently was stolen.2
The Court holds that there was an unlawful search of the turntable. It agrees that the “mere recording of the serial numbers did not constitute a seizure.” Ante, at 324. Thus, if the computer had identified as stolen property a component with a visible serial number, the evidence would have been admissible. But the Court further holds that “Officer Nelson‘s moving of the equipment . . . did constitute a ‘search‘. . . .” Ibid. It perceives a constitutional distinction between reading a serial number on an object and moving or picking up an identical object to see its serial number. To make its position unmistakably clear, the Court concludes that a “search is a search, even if it happens to disclose nothing but the bottom of a turntable.” Ante, at 325. With
of time and . . . I‘m just very familiar with people converting stolen stereos and TV‘s into their own use.” App. 28-29.
JUSTICE O‘CONNOR, with whom THE CHIEF JUSTICE and JUSTICE POWELL join, dissenting.
The Court today gives the right answer to the wrong question. The Court asks whether the police must have probable cause before either seizing an object in plain view or conducting a full-blown search of that object, and concludes that they must. I agree. In my view, however, this case presents a different question: whether police must have probable cause before conducting a cursory inspection of an item in plain view. Because I conclude that such an inspection is reasonable if the police are aware of facts or circumstances that justify a reasonable suspicion that the item is evidence of a crime, I would reverse the judgment of the Arizona Court of Appeals, and therefore dissent.
The purpose of the “immediately apparent” requirement is to prevent “general, exploratory rummaging in a person‘s belongings.” Coolidge v. New Hampshire, 403 U. S., at 467. If an officer could indiscriminately search every item in plain view, a search justified by a limited purpose—such as exigent circumstances—could be used to eviscerate the protections of the
“Of course, the extension of the original justification [for being present] is legitimate only where it is immediately apparent to the police that they have evidence before them; the ‘plain view’ doctrine may not be used to extend a general exploratory search from one object to another until something incriminating at last emerges. Cf. Stanley v. Georgia, [394 U. S. 557], 571-572 [(1969)] (Stewart, J., concurring in result).” Id., at 466-467.
Thus, I agree with the Court that even under the plain-view doctrine, probable cause is required before the police seize an item, or conduct a full-blown search of evidence in plain view. Ante, at 326-328. Such a requirement of probable cause will prevent the plain-view doctrine from authorizing general searches. This is not to say, however, that even a mere inspection of a suspicious item must be supported by probable cause. When a police officer makes a cursory inspection of a suspicious item in plain view in order to determine whether it is indeed evidence of a crime, there is no “exploratory rummaging.” Only those items that the police officer “reasonably suspects” as evidence of a crime may be inspected, and perhaps more importantly, the scope of such an inspection is quite limited. In short, if police officers have a reasonable, articulable suspicion that an object they come across during the course of a lawful search is evidence of crime, in my view they may make a cursory examination of the object to verify their suspicion. If the officers wish to go beyond such a cursory examination of the object, however, they must have probable cause.
This distinction between a full-blown search and seizure of an item and a mere inspection of the item was first suggested by Justice Stewart. In his concurrence in Stanley v. Georgia, 394 U. S. 557 (1969), which is cited in Coolidge, Justice Stewart observed that the federal agents there had acted within the scope of a lawful warrant in opening the drawers of the defendant‘s desk. When they found in one of the drawers not the gambling material described in the warrant
Following Justice Stewart‘s suggestion, the overwhelming majority of both state and federal courts have held that probable cause is not required for a minimal inspection of an item in plain view. As Professor LaFave summarizes the view of these courts, “the minimal additional intrusion which results from an inspection or examination of an object in plain view is reasonable if the officer was first aware of some facts and circumstances which justify a reasonable suspicion (not probable cause, in the traditional sense) that the object is or contains a fruit, instrumentality, or evidence of crime.”
Indeed, several state courts have applied a reasonable-suspicion standard in factual circumstances almost identical to this case. See, e. g., State v. Noll, 116 Wis. 2d 443, 343 N. W. 2d 391 (1984) (officer, upon seeing television, could check serial numbers); State v. Riedinger, 374 N. W. 2d 866 (ND 1985) (police, in executing warrant for drugs, could check serial number of microwave oven); People v. Dorris, 110 Ill. App. 3d 660, 442 N. E. 2d 951 (1982) (police may note account number of deposit slip because, when the police have a reasonable suspicion that an item in plain view is stolen property, the minimal additional intrusion of checking external identification numbers is proper); State v. Proctor, 12 Wash. App. 274, 529 P. 2d 472 (1974) (upholding police notation of serial numbers on calculators); People v. Eddington, 23 Mich. App. 210, 178 N. W. 2d 686 (1970) (upholding examination of heels of shoes), rev‘d on other grounds, 387 Mich. 551, 198 N. W. 2d 297 (1972).
This distinction between searches based on their relative intrusiveness—and its subsequent adoption by a consensus of American courts—is entirely consistent with our
In my view, the balance of the governmental and privacy interests strongly supports a reasonable-suspicion standard for the cursory examination of items in plain view. The additional intrusion caused by an inspection of an item in plain view for its serial number is minuscule. Indeed, the intrusion in this case was even more transitory and less intrusive than the seizure of luggage from a suspected drug dealer in United States v. Place, supra, and the “severe, though brief, intrusion upon cherished personal security” in Terry v. Ohio, supra, at 24-25.
Weighed against this minimal additional invasion of privacy are rather major gains in law enforcement. The use of identification numbers in tracing stolen property is a powerful law enforcement tool. Serial numbers are far more helpful and accurate in detecting stolen property than simple police recollection of the evidence. Cf. New York v. Class, 475 U. S. 106, 111 (1986) (observing importance of vehicle identification numbers). Given the prevalence of mass pro-
Unfortunately, in its desire to establish a “bright-line” test, the Court has taken a step that ignores a substantial body of precedent and that places serious roadblocks to reasonable law enforcement practices. Indeed, in this case no warrant to search the stereo equipment for its serial number could have been obtained by the officers based on reasonable suspicion alone, and in the Court‘s view the officers may not even move the stereo turntable to examine its serial number. The theoretical advantages of the “search is a search” approach adopted by the Court today are simply too remote to justify the tangible and severe damage it inflicts on legitimate and effective law enforcement.
Even if probable cause were the appropriate standard, I have little doubt that it was satisfied here. When police officers, during the course of a search inquiring into grievously unlawful activity, discover the tools of a thief (a sawed-off rifle and a stocking mask) and observe in a small apartment two sets of stereo equipment that are both inordinately expensive in relation to their surroundings and known to be favored targets of larcenous activity, the “flexible, common-sense standard” of probable cause has been satisfied. Texas v. Brown, 460 U. S., at 742 (plurality opinion).
Because the Court today ignores the existence of probable cause, and in doing so upsets a widely accepted body of precedent on the standard of reasonableness for the cursory examination of evidence in plain view, I respectfully dissent.