delivered the opinion of the court:
Thе defendant, Jerry Neal, a State police officer, was convicted by a jury in the circuit court of Champaign
The question presented is whether the defendant had a reasonable expectation of privacy as to the State-owned raincoat pouch kept in his patrol car, so as to have required police to obtain a warrant prior to conduсting a search of the pouch.
On a motion to suppress evidence, the burden of proof is on the defendant to establish that the search and seizure were unreasonable. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1983, ch. 38, par. 114—12(b); People v. Hoskins (1984),
On May 15, 1982, Charles Traylor, a sergeant in the Illinois State Police, received a telephone call from James Pejсhl. Pejchl was concerned about irregularities appearing in a traffic citation he had been given by a police officer named, according to the citation, “Myron Harris.” When served with the citation, Pejchl had posted a cash bond. Traylor’s invеstigation determined that there was no State trooper named Myron Harris. An examination of the record of citations issued by officers in the district directed investigative attention to the defendant.
At the hearing on the motion to suppress the citations as evidence, Traylor testified that although the patrol car at the time of the search was assigned to the defendant, the car was subject at any time to rеassignment to another officer. He stated that although officers were permitted to keep personal property in the patrol cars assigned to them, the vehicles and any official items in them were periodically inspected by supervisоrs with or without notice to the officers.
Corporal Richard Kaelin, the defendant’s immediate supervisor, testified that though a patrol car is assigned to a particular officer, it could be reassigned at any time, including during the officer’s shift. He said that the vehicles might be inspected at any time, whether the officer was on duty or not, and with or without notice to him, for the purpose of insuring that the officer was properly maintaining the vehicle and its equipment. Kaelin testified that each officer is issued a raincoat аnd pouch which are occasionally inspected for dirt and mildew. Although such an inspection is usually done in the officer’s
The defendant contends that he had а reasonable expectation of privacy in the raincoat pouch because it had been issued to him for his “exclusive” use. Too, he says, a claim of right to a search of the patrol car should be distinguished from a claim of right to a search of the raincoat pouch, in that the car was clearly identifiable as State property, whereas, the pouch, being unmarked, could have been personal property of the defendant.
The situation here, the defendant says, is compаrable to the one in United States v. Blok (D.C. Cir. 1951),
The State denies that the defendant could have had a reasonable expectation of privacy in the raincoat pouch. He was aware of the practice of periodic inspections of patrol cars and equipment and knew that a car could be reassigned at any time. Further, the State says that the trial court, in denying the motion to suppress, found that the defendant was aware that the patrol car assigned for his use was subject to periodic inspections and that he was or should have been aware that an article such as the raincoat pouch cоuld have been opened for inspection. Too, the trial court stated that evidence showed that the patrol car was not for the defendant’s exclusive use. The defendant, thus, had no reasonable expectation
The fourth amendment to the Constitution of the United States guarantees freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. It does not protect against all searches but only those which аre unreasonable governmental intrusions. (People v. Richards (1983),
In considering the defendant’s contention, one must determine “whether the person invoking its protection can claim a ‘justifiable,’ a ‘reasonable,’ or a ‘legitimate expectation of privacy’ that has been invaded by government action.” (Smith v. Maryland (1979),
This does not end the analysis of the question. We must consider whether the defendant’s expectation is “one that society is prepared to recognize as reasonable.” In evaluating the reasonableness of the defendant’s expectation of privacy, we must consider a number of factors: the patrol car and the pouch were State owned, as was the raincoat; the raincoаt and the patrol car were subject to periodic inspections by the defendant’s superiors under the policy and practice of the Illinois State Police; the inspections conducted were both with or without notice to the officer concerned and were within or without his presence; the defendant was aware of such inspections and the manner in which they were conducted; and the inspection, as well as the search here, was limited to State-owned property related to thе defendant’s employment and duties.
Based upon these considerations, it cannot be said that the defendant, as a member of the State Police and under its policy, could have held a reasonable expectation of privacy on the ground that he would not be subject to a supervisor’s search without warrant of the job-related vehicle and equipment. The trial court’s denial of the motion to suppress was not manifestly erroneous.
There have been holdings similar to the one we make here. In People v. Tidwell (1971),
United States v. Bunkers (9th Cir. 1975),
In Shaffer v. Field (C.D. Cal. 1972),
The decisions that the defendant cites can be distinguished. In United States v. Blok (D.C. Cir. 1951),
In United States v. McIntyre (9th Cir. 1978),
For the reasons given, we hold that there was no error in deciding that the defendant had no reasonable expectation of privacy in the raincoat pouch. The judgment of the appellate court is affirmed.
Judgment affirmed.
