Lead Opinion
Opinion
Our prior opinion in this case (People v. Teresinski (1980)
The Crews decision does not affect our prior conclusion that the arresting officer lacked an objectively reasonable basis for detaining defendant; it confirms our prior ruling that the physical evidence seized as a result of. that detention and the subsequent photographic identification are inadmissible. Crews, however, casts doubt upon our holding that the identification testimony of the robbery victim must also be excluded. Although we reasoned that such testimony should be excluded if derived in direct causative flow, without intervening act, from the initial detention, the Supreme Court in Crews stated that admissibility should turn instead on whether the victim’s identification testimony was the result of an independent recollection of the crime, untainted by any confrontation or identification arising from the illegal detention.
Under the reasoning of Crews, a victim’s identification testimony is admissible if based upon his independent recollection untainted by illegal police conduct. In the present case the trial court determined that the identification testimony was the independent product of the victim’s observation of defendant during the robbery. Since that determination complies with the requirements of Crews, we conclude that the trial court erred in suppressing the testimony
1. Statement of facts.
We reproduce the factual recital from our former opinion, adding a brief discussion of the views of the trial judge concerning the independent basis of the identification testimony.
About 2 a.m., Officer Rocha of the Dixon police force saw an unfamiliar car with three occupants proceeding through the city business district. Because of windshield glare he could not see defendant, the driver, but he thought both passengers were juveniles and surmised that the driver also was a minor. Although the car was proceeding at a lawful speed without any suspicious behavior, the officer signaled the driver to stop. He subsequently explained that he detained the car because “I believed there were juveniles in the car. We have a 10:00 o’clock curfew in Dixon.”
As the car slowed to a stop Officer Rocha observed defendant and the front-seat passenger glance back and reach down. Those gestures led him to believe that the occupants might be hiding alcohol or reaching for a weapon. Defendant alighted from the car, walked toward the
Rocha told defendant to stay at the rear of the car, walked to the driver’s window, and shined his light on the floorboard. He saw a pool of liquid and a beer can under the front seat. Ordering the two passengers out, he then observed a gun holster; and, after questioning, Rocha retrieved a loaded weapon from the floorboard.
A subsequent search of the car produced several beer containers, a baggie of marijuana, and a paper bag filled with bills and change. The money was traced to a Seven-Eleven store that had been robbed earlier that night in nearby Woodland. Defendant and his two passengers were arrested on suspicion of robbery. Mr. Cady, the store clerk who witnessed the robbery, identified photographs of defendant and his companions. Later at the preliminary hearing Cady identified defendant in person.
Defendant moved pursuant to Penal Code section 1538.5 to suppress both the physical evidence seized and the identification testimony of Cady, basing his motion primarily on the testimony of Cady and Officer Rocha at the preliminary hearing. Following argument, the court requested briefing on the question whether “under circumstances where the victim is able to identify but is unable to name the defendant as the perpetrator of the crime, if the defendant’s name becomes known to the victim as a result of an illegal arrest and mug pictures are taken and shown to the victim, then must the victim’s identification of the defendant ... be suppressed?” Clarifying its request, the court further stated that “Here the Court is satisfied that Mr. Cady was able to identify the defendants. He knew their physical appearance. But he did not know their name, and their names became known to him through the mugshots which were taken as a result of . .. an illegal stop . .. . ”
After receiving briefs, the trial court granted the motion to suppress. It ruled, first, that because defendant and his companions were not loitering, Officer Rocha had no basis for detaining them; the detention was therefore illegal. The illegality of the detention compels suppression
The People appealed. As we noted "earlier, this court granted a hearing and affirmed the trial court’s ruling in all respects. (
2. Invalidity of the detention.
Although the Supreme Court’s mandate referred only to United States v. Crews, a decision which does not relate to our earlier holding that defendant’s detention was illegal, we have permitted the parties to present additional authorities and argument bearing on that issue. Upon review of the matter, however, we adhere to our prior holding, and adopt the language of the former opinion as modified to take account of additional contentions advanced and authorities cited.
As we noted in our former opinion, In re Tony C. (1978)
We need only apply that standard to the facts of the present case. The detention here rested upon Officer Rocha’s suspicion that de
The word “loiter” in particular bears a sinister connotation: it generally connotes lingering for the purpose of committing a crime. (In re Cregler (1961)
In sum, Officer Rocha lacked any objectively reasonable basis to suspect that defendant or his passengers were violating the prohibi
Although it is clear that defendant’s conduct did not violate the curfew ordinance, the People nevertheless argue that the detention should be upheld on the ground that the officer’s action was based on a “reasonable mistake of law.” (Cf. Hill v. California (1971)
The curfew ordinance did not present ah obscure or unfamiliar enactment to Officer Rocha, but one that he had enforced on numerous occasions. The plain language of the ordinance clearly does not prohibit a minor from simply being present on the streets of Dixon after 10 p.m., but only prohibits such behavior as “loitering” or “idling” on the streets; the officer’s belief that Dixon had enacted a blanket curfew ordinance should have been dispelled by a simple reading of the terms of the enactment. Moreover, several years before the detention in the present case, the Court of Appeal in construing a similar ordinance explicitly held that driving a car at a normal rate of speed down a public street did not violate the ordinance. (People v. Horton, supra,
3. Suppression of evidence.
Having found defendant’s detention illegal, it necessarily follows that the physical evidence found in the automobile as a result of this detention is inadmissible. (See, e.g., United States v. Crews, supra,
In Crews, three women were robbed in the womens’ restroom at the Washington Monument. A few days later a policeman saw defendant loitering near the Monument restrooms, observed that he matched the description given by the women, and attempted to photograph him. When the officer could not get a suitable picture, he took defendant into custody for truancy, photographed defendant at the police station, and released him. After two of the robbery victims identified the photograph, defendant was arrested and charged with robbery.
The trial court ruled that the detention for truancy constituted an illegal arrest, and suppressed both the photographic identification and a subsequent lineup identification. The court permitted the victims to testify at trial, however, arid on the basis of that testimony defendant was found guilty of robbery of the first victim.
The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia overturned the conviction, holding that the in-court identification was the inadmissible product of the illegal detention. (Crews v. United States (D.C. 1978)
The defendant in Crews, although acknowledging that an illegal detention in itself is not a bar to a subsequent prosecution (see Frisbie v.
We find no basis to distinguish the present case from United States v. Crews. The victim in this case, like the victim in Crews, reported the crime to the police and provided them with a description of the robber before the illegal detention occurred. Although the trial court here made no formal finding that the victim’s testimony at preliminary hearing was based upon his independent, untainted recollection of the crime,
It is clear from United States v. Crews that if the witness, relying upon his memory of the crime, is able to identify the defendant based upon his physical appearance, the testimony of the witness rests upon an adequate independent basis; the fact that the witness learned the defendant’s name as a result of illegal police action is irrelevant. Judge Patton’s determination that Cady could identify defendant’s appearance apart from any information he acquired as a result of the illegal deten
Defendant argues that in the present case, unlike Crews, the police had no grounds to suspect him of the robbery prior to the illegal detention. This distinction, however, rests on that portion of Justice Brennan’s opinion which was not joined by a majority of the justices. The concurring opinions of Justices Powell and White make it clear that a majority of the high court believe that an in-court identification, based upon the independent recollection of a witness known to the police before an illegal detention, is admissible whether or not the police suspected the defendant before the detention. (See Thorne v. State of Arkansas (1981)
We conclude that Crews is controlling with respect to any contentions based on the federal Constitution, and compels us to reject defendant’s premise that the admission of Cady’s courtroom identification violated the Fourth Amendment. We therefore turn to defendant’s alternative claim based on article I, section 13 of the California Constitution.
In addressing this issue, we begin by reaffirming the now settled principle that the California courts, in interpreting the Constitution of this state, are not bound by federal precedent construing the parallel federal text; as we recently stated in Committee to Defend Reproductive Rights v. Myers (1981)
First, nothing in the language or history of the California provision suggests that the issue before us should be resolved differently than under the federal Constitution. (Compare City of Santa Barbara v. Adamson (1980)
Second, this is not a case in which the high court “hands down a decision which limits rights established by earlier precedent in a manner inconsistent with the spirit of the earlier opinion.” (People v. Bustamante, supra,
Third, we have on occasion been influenced not to follow parallel federal decisions by the vigor of the dissenting opinions and the incisive academic criticism of those decisions. (See Committee to Defend Reproductive Rights v. Myers, supra, 29 Cal.3d 252, 267, fn. 17; People v. Bustamante, supra,
Finally, the Supreme Court decision in Crews, if followed by the courts of this state, would not overturn established California doctrine affording greater rights to the defendant. To the contrary, as we will explain, past California precedent is consistent with the principles set out in Crews.
Prior to our first Teresinski opinion, the leading California decision on the Crews issue was Lockridge v. Superior Court, supra,
We denied the request for mandate to suppress the identification testimony. Our opinion states that “The Pesces [the witnesses] were
Lockridge provides a close parallel to the present case. In both cases, an unlawful search during a police investigation of an unrelated matter (the jewelry burglary in Lockridge, a curfew violation in the present case) led by chance to the discovery of physical evidence linking defendants to a prior robbery. In both the victims of the robbery were not discovered as a result of the unlawful search,
Thus the Crews decision does not threaten to overturn a settled line of California precedent but, to the contrary, leads to results consistent with the leading California cases. Thus, those decisions which rely upon independent state grounds in order to preserve consistency in California law and protect established state doctrine (see People v. Pettingill, supra,
In accord with that conclusion, we hold that the superior court correctly suppressed both the physical evidence seized at the time of the illegal detention and the testimonial evidence that Cady, the robbery victim, identified defendant’s photograph the morning after the robbery. The court erred, however, in suppressing Cady’s testimony identifying defendant at the preliminary hearing. Since that testimony was sufficient to establish probable cause to believe that defendant committed the charged robbery, the court also erred in dismissing the action against defendant.
The judgment (order of dismissal) is reversed, and the matter remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
Bird, C. J., Mosk, J., Newman, J., Kaus, J., and Tobriner, J.,
Notes
Citing testimony from a proceeding involving defendant’s juvenile companion, the Attorney General asserts that the record in this case presents an incomplete and inaccurate account of defendant’s activities and Officer Rocha’s reasons for detaining defendant. We are constrained, however, to decide this case on the record before us. We cannot take judicial notice of the truth of testimony presented in a different action.
The issues in this case concern the legality of the initial detention. The scope of the search has not been questioned. (Cf. People v. Superior Court (Kiefer) (1970)
The ordinance reads:
“Sec. 16.2 Curfew—Minors not to be in public after 10:00 P.M.; exceptions.
“It shall be unlawful for any person under the age of eighteen years to loiter, idle, wander, stroll, or play in or upon the public streets, highways, roads, alleys, parks, playgrounds, or other public grounds, public places and public buildings, places of amusement and eating places, vacant lots, or other unsupervised places, between the hours of 10:00 P.M. and 5:00 A.M. of the day immediately following; provided, however, that the provisions of this section do not apply when the person is accompanied by his parent, guardian, or other adult person having the care and custody of the person, or when the person is returning directly home from a meeting, entertainment, recreational activity or dance, or when the person is going directly to or returning directly from work.
“A person under eighteen years may obtain food in a cafe after a meeting, entertainment, recreational activity, dance or work after the hour of 10:00 P.M., but must vacate the premises immediately after consuming the food served and proceed directly home.” (Ord. No. 6, 1950, § 1.)
“Sec. 16.4 Curfew—Minors under eighteen violating curfew regulations.
“Any person under the age of eighteen years violating the provisions of section 16.2 shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be dealt with in accordance with juvenile court law and procedure. (Ord. No. 6, 1950, § 3.)”
In view of our conclusion that the detention was unlawful, we need not consider defendant’s arguments attacking the constitutionality of the ordinance.
Curfew ordinances can be classified into two groups: those which prohibit “presence” at the proscribed time and place (see, e.g., the ordinance described in In re Francis W. (1974)
Seeking to transform the officer’s misconception into reality, the People argue that we should construe the Dixon ordinance to prohibit juveniles from being present on the streets after curfew. Their argument, which is not entirely clear, appears to be that the language of the ordinance, which declares it illegal to “loiter, idle, wander, stroll or play,” is so broad as to indicate the city’s intention to ban all activity whatsoever, even activity which does not fall within those specific terms. Even if such was the intention of the city council—and the People present no support for that claim—the language of the ordinance cannot reasonably be construed to ban conduct that does not fall within its specific terms.
The Attorney General calls our attention to the en banc decision of the Fifth Circuit in United States v. Williams (1980)
Findings are not required in a hearing to suppress evidence under section 1538.5.
Substantial evidence supports the determination that Cady’s trial identification rested upon his independent recollection of the robbery. Cady observed the robbers at close range for several minutes in a well-lighted store; he then identified defendant and his companion from an array of eight photographs shown him the morning after the robbery. Defendant does not claim that the photographic lineup was suggestive. (See United States v. Crews, supra,
We recognize that at the time of the section 1538.5 hearing it was not clear that the independent source doctrine, which originated in cases involving suggestive lineups (see United States v. Wade (1967)
Article I, section 13, in language based upon the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution, provides that “The right of the people to be secure in their houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable seizures and searches may not be violated; and a warrant may not issue except on probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, particularly describing the place to be searched and the persons and things to be seized.”
In Committee to Defend Reproductive Rights v. Myers, supra,
We note one earlier case. In People v. Stoner (1967)
Subsequent California cases have followed the reasoning of Lockridge. In People v. McInnis, supra,
The trial court attempted to distinguish Lockridge on the ground that defendant in the present case was arrested, booked, and photographed in connection with the investigation of the Seven-Eleven robbery, while defendants in Lockridge were arrested, booked, and photographed for the jewelry burglary. Although we endorsed that distinction in our prior opinion, its validity is open to question. The illegal police conduct in the present case, which gave rise to the suppression motion, concerns the initial detention, not the arrest or subsequent booking and photographing. That detention occurred during an investigation of a suspected curfew violation before the detaining officer was even aware of the Seven-Eleven robbery.
The Crews decision, in noting that the arrest in that case was not a sham or pretext (see
Retired Associate Justice of the Supreme Court sitting under assignment by the Chairperson of the Judicial Council.
Concurrence Opinion
I concur in the judgment reversing the order of dismissal pursuant to United States v. Crews (1980)
“In the present case there was an abundance of objective facts that justified Officer Rocha’s honest and strong belief that the occupants of the vehicle might be in violation of the curfew and ordinance. (See In re Nancy C. (1972)
Appellant’s petition for a rehearing was denied April 15, 1982. Reynoso, J., did not participate therein. Richardson, J., was of the opinion that the petition should be granted.
