People v. SmithPeople v. Smith
Lead Opinion
Defendant was charged with receiving stolen property.
On November 14, 1979, a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent, a Michigan State police officer (trooper), and a Wayne County prosecutor investigator (investigator) went to 18883 Gainsborough, the residence of an associate of the defendant. The purpose of the visit was to investigate a shipment of stolen vehicle transmissions which had been delivered to Dallas, Texas. The investigator had received information that the transmissions had been delivered by two trucks; a black Kenworth and a red and white Peterbilt, both of which were pulling new, clean, silver-in-color trailers. Payment for the transmissions was by four checks made payable to defendant and his associate.
After the officers unsuccessfully attempted to locate defendant and his associate at the Gainsborough address, they drove away. Upon reaching the intersection of Avon and Grand River Avenue, approximately two blocks from the Gainsborough address, two tractors and trailers were spotted which fit the description of those used to deliver the stolen items. The Kenworth tractor was attached to one of the trailers (hereinafter, trailer #2). The Peterbilt tractor was parked directly in front of, but not attached to, the other trailer (hereinafter, trailer #1). While trailer #2 was in fact owned by defendant, trailer #1 was later found to be stolen and the charge against defendant involves only trailer #1.
A radio check was made as to the registration of the license plate on trailer #1. The plate was registered in defendant’s name to a 1978 Fruehauf trailer bearing the same vehicle registration number (VIN) attached to trailer #2. The officers
The investigator went to a police station in an unsuccessful attempt to contact someone from the commercial auto theft section who would know the location of the hidden or secret VIN. He then called the Fruehauf manufacturer to determine the number’s location. Within an hour or an hour and one-half, he returned to the parking lot where the state trooper had remained. They were unable to locate the VIN in the location described by the alleged manufacturer. Comparing the physical appearance of trailer #2, a confirmed Fruehauf trailer, and trailer #1, the investigator concluded that trailer # 1 was not a Fruehauf trailer. It was later determined that trailer #1 was manufactured by Trailmobile and the hidden VIN was in a different location than Fruehaufs. A tow truck was called and, upon its arrival within one and one-half hours, trailer #1 was removed to the police pound. Its true identity was established and it was determined that trailer # 1 had been stolen.
The prosecutor appeals after the trial court granted defendant’s motion to suppress this evidence. The people’s first argument on appeal is that the defendant does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the stolen trailer such that he has standing to object to its seizure.
As a general rule, this Court will not review an issue raised for the first time on appeal. See People v Obadele,
Standing is legalese to denote the requirement that a party in a lawsuit have a sufficient personal interest in the outcome so that the case is fairly, fully, and vigorously litigated. "[W]hen standing is placed in issue in a case, the question is whether the person whose standing is challenged is a proper party to request an adjudication of a particular issue.” Flast v Cohen,
There are three major federal cases which must be examined when a criminal defendant’s standing to object to the introduction of evidence is in issue: Jones v United States,
The Jones rule granting standing for anyone legitimately on the premises at the time of the search and seizure was struck down in Rakas, supra, 142. This half of the Jones case was replaced with a standard which considers whether the party had a legitimate expectation of privacy in the searched or seized item. Rakas, supra, 143.
The automatic standing rule of Jones was reevaluated by the United States Supreme Court in Salvucci. Justice Rehnquist wrote for the majority stating: "Today we hold that defendants charged with crimes of possession may only claim the benefits of the exclusionary rule if their own Fourth Amendment rights have in fact been violated. The automatic standing rule of Jones v United States, supra, is therefore overruled.” Salvucci, supra, 85. The Salvucci majority requires a factual finding that the party opposing the search have a legitimate expectation of privacy in the area searched. Id., 92.
In the case at bar, the prosecutor argues that the defendant does not have standing to object to the introduction of the evidence, as he did not have a legitimate expectation of privacy in the stolen trailer while it was parked on the lot. Defendant notes that Rakas and Salvucci are not binding on Michigan courts and, therefore, he has standing because he is charged with a crime where possession of the goods is an essential element. This Court is faced for the first time with deciding
Other states which have considered this issue have split in their adoption of Salvucci. In State v Hutchinson, 404 So 2d 361 (Fla App, 1981), the Court reviewed the history of search-and-seizure law in that state and concluded that Florida courts must follow the principles announced in Salvucci. However, the Supreme Court of New Hampshire, in State v Settle, — NH —; — A2d — (1982), held that the automatic standing rule was still applicable in New Hampshire after Salvucci.
New Hampshire has decided to give defendants greater protection from unreasonable searches and seizures than the United States Supreme Court. As was noted in People v Nabers,
"The Michigan Supreme Court has traditionally afforded defendants greater protection against unreasonable searches and seizures than the United States Supreme Court. See People v Beavers,393 Mich 554 ;227 NW2d 511 (1975), cert den423 US 878 ;96 S Ct 152 ;46 L Ed 2d 111 (1975) (imposing higher Michigan standard relative to electronic surveillance); People v Margelis,217 Mich 423 ;186 NW 488 (1922) (applying the exclusionary rule prior to the time it was mandated by Mapp v Ohio,367 US 643 ;81 S Ct 1684 ;6 L Ed 2d 1081 [1961]).”
Const 1963, art 1, §11, provides in part: "The person, houses, papers and possessions of every person shall be free from unreasonable searches
Justices Marshall and Brennan dissented in Salvucci, noting that the majority concluded the rationale underpinning the automatic standing rule had been eroded but disagreeing with that conclusion. The rationale for the automatic standing rule was that a defendant charged with a possessory crime should not be forced with relinquishing his Fifth Amendment privilege against self incrimination when seeking suppression of evidence and asserting his Fourth Amendment claim. Justice Marshall reasoned that the cases following Jones do not provide a defendant with complete protection against the "self-incrimination dilemma”.
Judge, now Justice, Levin wrote in People v Weaver,
We now arrive at the people’s substantive argument on appeal: the trial court clearly erred in suppressing the evidence and dismissing the case as the seizure of the trailer without a warrant was proper under the circumstances.
A trial court’s ruling on a motion to suppress evidence will not be disturbed unless it is clearly erroneous. People v Grimmett,
A seizure, or search, without a warrant is unreasonable per se and violates the Fourth Amendment, as well as Const 1963, art 1, § 11, unless it is shown to be within one of the exceptions to the warrant requirement. People v Whalen,
The constitutional prohibition against unreasonable seizures requires an inquiry into whether there was probable cause for the seizure. A seizure by state officials without probable cause would be unreasonable and unconstitutional. However, if the officials had probable cause for the seizure, the second inquiry is whether a valid exception to the warrant requirement exists. See People v Young,
The only exception to the warrant requirement that the parties argue on appeal is the plain view doctrine. This doctrine provides that objects in the plain view of an officer, observed by the officer from a place in which he has a lawful right to be, which are obviously incriminating evidence or contraband, may be seized legally without a warrant. People v Dugan,
The trial court found probable cause and the parties herein agree that the officials were legally in the parking lot. However, as the trial court stated:
"The plain view exception is inapplicable to the facts at hand since the officers had conceded that the purpose of the impounding was to determine the true identity of the vehicle, not because the vehicle was thought to contain contraband or to be a stolen vehicle. The prosecution’s contention that the observation of the missing VIN plate and improper license plate amounted to an unavoidable conclusion that the vehicle was stolen is unsound.”
The officers’ admission that they did not know if the trailer was evidence of a crime at the time they seized it defeats the plain view argument.
Affirmed.
Notes
The following Michigan cases cite United States v Salvucci,
People v Kramer,
Concurrence Opinion
(concurring). I concur wholeheartedly in Judge Riley’s opinion. Rakas v Illinois,
I write separately in order to declare that I erred in joining Judge Allen’s opinion in People v Kramer,
Concurrence Opinion
(concurring). I agree that the trial court should be affirmed because the plain view exception is inapplicable to the facts at hand. A warrant should have been obtained in this case because the property seized was not contraband or clearly incriminating at the time of the seizure.