Lead Opinion
Dеfendant appeals his convictions for possession of marijuana with the intent to distribute, deliver, or dispense; for the possession of amphetamines; and for the possession of cocaine. While the defendant sets out five assignments of error, they may be categorized as embraced within the ambit of the overruling of defendant’s motion to suppress for an alleged unreasonable search and seizure. The issue in this case was previously decided adverse to the defendant in an opinion by a single member of this court. We affirm.
Defendant was operating a motor vehicle, a camper on a pickup, in the early morning hours of Saturday, November 24, 1973. He was proceeding in an easterly direction on Interstate 80 in Keith County, Nebraska. Trooper Hollis Compton of the Nebraska Safety Patrol, while in his official uniform, stopped defendant’s vehicle for the purpose of checking his operator’s license, the vehicle registration, and the vehicle identification number. There was no other reason for the stop. Reliance to make the stop is based solely upon section 60-435, R. R. S. 1943, which provides in part as follows: “* * * all members of the Nebraska State Patrol * * * shall have thе power * * * (4) when in uniform, to require the driver thereof to stop and exhibit his operator’s license and registration card issued for the vehicle and submit to an inspection of such vehicle, the registration plates and registration cards thereon * *
While checking the license and registration, the officer smelled a distinctive marijuana odor and observed what he believed to be marijuana seeds on the floor of the vehicle. Incense was burning in the vehicle. He asked the defendant if he had any marijuana and the defendant said “No.” Defendant then told the officer he had been smoking his last marijuana сigarette. The trooper asked permission to look into the camper. The
The next day, Sunday, a specialized criminal investigator for the Patrol visited with the defendant. After the defendant signed a “right’s waiver” form the investigator questioned him. Defendant told this investigator he did not have a prescription for the amphetamines. He had obtained them from a girl who did, and had obtained them for the purpose of staying awake on the trip. Defendant said the white powder in the yellow plastic vial found in his possession was an amphetamine he had been “snorting.” He also admitted that the cigarette and the other marijuana had been in his possession.
The problem presented is whether or not the evidence
It is defendant’s contention that even the momentary stopping of a motorist for an inspection constitutes an arrest and requires probable cause. He argues his freedom of movement should be immune from state interference unless there is some indication of a law violation. What we said in State v. Carpenter (1967),
Defendant argues that section 60-435, R. R. S. 1943, would be unconstitutional unless we can read into it a requirement of some reasonable cause otherwise for stopping a motor vehicle. We do not construe the statute that narrowly. This statute is intended to give the officers mentioned therein the power to enforce laws regulating the operatiоn of vehicles or the use of the highways. The licensing laws are safety measures applicable to the use of all roads or highways within the state. It would be most unusual to have ah observable indication of a licensing violation of a moving vehicle. Stopping the vehicle for inspection is the only practical method of enforcement of section 60-435, R. R. S. 1943.
Defendant is relying on Commonwealth v. Swanger,
There are cases in some jurisdictions which hold that because of the number of automobiles on the highways and their extensive use by our population, any stop to spot-check license and registration is manifestly unjust and unfair unless all automobiles using the highways at that place and time are likewise checked. While the record herein would indicate that the defendant and the trooper were apparently the only two persons using the highway at that early hour of the morning, we do not accept the rationale of these cases. We are in agreement with the many decisions in other jurisdictions which hold otherwise.
The only practical method of enforcing the licensing laws involved is by stopping the vehicle. The inconvenience experienced by the individual motorist is relatively slight compared to the benefits to be derived from strict enforcement of our licensing laws. Whether this should be accomplished by spot checks or road blocks is a question that has been raised. Certainly there is less inconvenience to the motoring public by using spot checks. Spot checks also have the advantage of always being unexpectedly possible. We believe occasional spot checks are not only more practical but can have a salutary effect in the enforcement of our traffic laws and serve to promote the safety of the traveling public. Excessive spot checks can be unduly burdensome to traffic and commerce. The line of demarcation between the two is not easily drawn. However, due regard for
The District of Columbia Court of Appeals in Palmore v. United States (1972),
“We must keep in mind that if we were to limit the police as appellant urges, tо stopping only those autos in which the driver might reasonably be suspected to be without a license, for example, because of his youthful appearance, the results would unjustifiably single out and discriminate against certain groups of citizens, i. e., the young. Moreover, such a restrictive ruling by us might render virtually unenforceable the Congressional prohibition against all unlicensed drivers and unregistered cars driving on District of Columbia streets. After all, persons who drive in the District without a valid license and registration will not necessarily exhibit conduct or the appearance giving rise to articulable suspicion that they are without proper driving credentials. Thus, they would be immune from the ‘spot check’ to enforce a requirement deemed necessary by Congress for public safety on the District’s highways.”
The Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, in Leonard v. State (1973),
The Texas court held the officer was authorized to stop Leonard’s vehicle by virtue of the statute to determine whether the driver had a valid license to operate the vehicle. It held the State had a legitimate interest to determine the fitness of a vehicle to be used and its driver to operate such vehicle on a public road. The court said: “The momentary stopping of a citizen for this purpose does not violate constitutional rights. See Myricks v. United States, (
In United States v. Turner (8th Cir., 1971),
In Rodgers v. United States (8th Cir., 1966),
In Lipton v. United States (9th Cir., 1965),
In Myricks v. United States (5th Cir., 1967),
We are not unmindful of the possibility of abuse of the statute as we interpret it. We have no hesitancy in saying' that if the facts should disclose that the stop is a mere pretext for other reasons, it would be held to be arbitrary and unreasonable and violative of the Fourth Amendment. We hasten to state, specifically and emphatically, that a spot check is not to be used as a pretext to search for evidence of some possible crime unrelated to the requirements of section 60-435, R. R. S. 1943. We hold further that when the driver has pro
As the trial court found, the only reason for the stop was to check the operator’s license of the defendant, the mоtor vehicle registration, and its identification number. This is permissible under our law. No constitutional violation was involved. Subsequent to the stop, by the use of his senses, the trooper became aware of the presence of marijuana. At that time, under our law, he had probable cause to search the camper for marijuana without the necessity-of relying on consent, although he had consent in this case. In the search he discovered the marijuana and placed the defendant under arrest. Subsequently, a search at the police station disclosed the presence of amphеtamines and cocaine. It would be mere conjecture to speculate on what might have happened if the defendant had continued to “snort” the white powder for the more than 300 miles of further travel across Nebraska.
As suggested by the dissent, this opinion was written prior to the release of United States v. Brignoni-Ponce, 43 Law Week 5028, (June 24, 1975),
We also note that the dissent is in error in suggesting that of the cases cited in this opinion only that of Palmore v. United States,
The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.
Affirmed.
Dissenting Opinion
dissenting.
The majority opinion, on the strength of section 60-435, R. R. S. 1943, now holds that a law enforcement officer, when in uniform, may stop any motorist at random at any time and at any place on the public highways, streets, or roads of the State of Nebraska without any articulable reason to suspect that he has violated any law, but simрly for the avowed purpose of checking his operator’s license and vehicle registration. That holding emasculates the constitutional protection of the Fourth Amendment guaranties against unreasonable search and seizure and for all practical purposes repeals the Fourth Amendment by statutory fiat. The mere pronouncement of the magic words “I wanted to check the registration and driver’s license” becomes the “open sesame” which removes all constitutional barriers to a random investigative stop of any motor vehicle at any time, any placе, at the arbitrary whim of any police officer.
In the case at bar the officer’s reason to make the stop was solely to check the operator’s license, vehicle registration, and identification number. He had no other reason and there were no facts or circumstances which would justify any reasonable suspicion of the violation of any law. The majority opinion relies upon cases
On the other hand, many more cases, indirectly referred to in the majority opinion, have held such an investigatory stop to be unreasonable and arbitrary when there is no articulable reason to suspect a violation of any law. Such cases are not only more numerous, but far more persuasive. See, for example, Commonwealth v. Swanger,
No matter what views may be held on the subject of whether or not a motorist can be stopped at random for investigation of his driver’s license and registration without any reason to suspect that he has violated any law, the issue was foreclosed by the United States Supreme Court on June 30, 1975, in the case of United States v. Brignoni-Ponce, 43 Law Week 5028 (June 24, 1975).
That case involved a roving patrol stop of an automobile by the border patrol to question the occupants about their citizenship and immigration status. The stop was at a point approximately 65 miles north of the Mexican border. The only reason for stopping the automobile was that its three occupants appeared to be of Mexican descent. The stopping of cars without warrants in the particular area was authorized under federal statutes and current regulations of the border patrol. The United States Supreme Court reaffirmed the principle that no act of Congress can authorize a violation of the Constitution, and that an investigative stop that involves only a brief detention short of traditional arrest constitutes a seizure which must be “reasonable.” “As with other categories of police action subject to Fourth Amendment constraints, the reasonableness of such seizures depends on a balance between the public interest and the individual’s right to personal security free from arbitrary interference by law officers.”
The Supreme Court held that because of the importance of the governmental interest at stake, the minimal intrusion of a brief stop and the absence of practical alternatives for policing the border, that when an officer’s observations lead him reasonably to suspect that a particular vehicle may contain aliens who are illegally in the country, he may stop the car briefly and investigate the circumstances that provoke the suspicion. The court specifically reiterated that the stop and inquiry must be “reasonably related in scope to the justification for their initiation.”
It seems patently clear that the thrust of the Supreme Court opinion is directed at random stops of a single vehicle which are made without any reason to suspect that the motorist has violated any law. The court said: “To approve roving-patrol stops of all vehicles in the border area, without any suspicion that a particular
“We are not convinced that the legitimate needs of law enforcement require this degree of interference with lawful traffic.”
The majority opinion of this court was written prior to the release of the Brignoni-Ponce case but has been reaffirmed subsequent to that decision upon the ground that footnote 8 in Brignoni-Ponce states: “Our decision thus does not imply that state and local enforcement agencies are without power to conduct such limited stops as are necessary to enforce laws regarding driver’s licenses, vehicle registration, truck weights, and similar matters.”
It seems only logical that the type of investigative stop referred to in that footnote is a fixed point or checkpoint stop and not an indiscriminate random stop of a single vehicle without reasonable suspicion. The concurrence of Mr. Justice Rehnquist and the concurrence of Mr. Justice White, with whom Mr. Justice Blackmun joins, confirm that conclusion.
There is simply no logical definitive way to distinguish between the stop of an automobile made for the purpose of determining whether driver’s license and vehicular registration laws have been violated, and a stop to determine whether the laws governing entry and transportation of aliens have been violated. If any distinction can be made, it might be said that the governmental interest and the public interest in the enforcement of
As the Supreme Court said in Brignoni-Ponce with respect to seizures of the person involving only a brief detention short of traditional arrest, ‘ the reasonableness of such seizures depends on a balance between the public interest and the individual’s right to personal security free from arbitrary interference by law officers.” It seems transparently clear that an indiscriminate random stop of a single motor vehicle without any ground for reasonable suspicion of any law violation, which can be made at the whim of any law officer, is an arbitrary interference with an individual’s right to personal security and is unreasonable within the ambit of the Fourth Amendment. The initial seizure here being unconstitutional, the motion to suppress should have been granted.
