Tillman v. StateTillman v. State
The decision under review, Tillman v. State, 807 So.2d 106 (Fla. 5th DCA 2002), expressly and directly conflicts with Taylor v. State, 740 So.2d 89 (Fla.1st DCA 1999), on the issue of whether
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
The Fifth District has summarized the pertinent facts in this case:
[On November 7, 1997,] Deputy Parks Duncan, Jr., was patrolling the Deerfield Subdivision when he observed 20 to 30 people standing in front of five to six houses .... Among the group of mostly Hispanic people were five black males standing in the street being loud and boisterous. Duncan approached them and asked them to return to the party. As they left, one of the black males uttered loud obscenities and threatened Officer Duncan.
Due to this threat, Duncan called for back-up. After back-up arrived, Duncan and eight to ten other officers entered the screened pool enclosure at the rear
of the house where the party was occurring. At that point, Duncan ... entered to “see if I could determine who made this threat to me.” ... Deputy Timothy Henriquez testified that he responded to [the] call for backup. Duncan advised him that he had been threatened by two individuals he recognized as possible bank robbers or robbery suspects. Henriquez and other backup officers followed Duncan to the pool enclosure where Henriquez saw the two gentlemen run into the pool enclosure. Duncan pointed out Tillman and Henriquez stopped Tillman inside the pool enclosure. Tillman was wearing a “very heavy jacket” which seemed odd to Henriquez because it was not cold. Henriquez asked Tillman if he could pat him down and Tillman refused, but Henriquez patted him down anyway. Henriquez was concerned about finding weapons on Tillman because he understood that Tillman had threatened Duncan and that Duncan recognized Tillman as having “been accused, or charged at one time or another with armed robbery with weapons.” Henriquez did not find any weapons on Tillman.
... Henriquez asked Tillman to sit down but Tillman refused . . . and started to walk away. Henriquez grabbed Tillman‘s right shoulder, at which point Tillman suddenly spun around and put Henriquez in a headlock. Henriquez attempted to remove himself from Tillman‘s headlock by dropping to the ground. Just then, other deputies jumped on top of Tillman and Henriquez. Tillman did not release his hold on Henriquez until he was pepper sprayed.
Tillman, 807 So.2d at 107-08.3
The jury found Tillman guilty of aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer pursuant to
The Fifth District affirmed Tillman‘s convictions and sentences. The district court acknowledged that the statutes governing the crimes charged require the State to prove that the officer was lawfully executing a legal duty at the time of the alleged battery or violent resistance. Id. However, the district court cited a line of district court cases that have interpreted
The Fifth District expressly declined in this case to follow Taylor. Id. at 109. In Taylor, the First District held
We granted review to resolve the conflict between Taylor and Tillman on the scope of
ANALYSIS
I. Statutory Provisions and Standard of Review
The issues in this case require us to construe
A person is not justified in the use of force to resist an arrest by a law enforcement officer who is known, or reasonably appears, to be a law enforcement officer.
(2) Whenever any person is charged with knowingly committing an assault or battery upon a law enforcement officer, a firefighter, an emergency medical care provider, a traffic accident investigation officer ..., a traffic infraction enforcement officer ..., a parking enforcement specialist ..., or a security officer employed by the board of trustees of a community college, while the officer, firefighter, emergency medical care provider, intake officer, traffic accident investigation officer, traffic infraction enforcement officer, parking enforcement specialist, public transit employee or agent, or security officer is engaged in the lawful performance of his or her duties, the offense for which the person is charged shall be reclassified as follows:
....
(d) In the case of aggravated battery, from a felony of the second degree to a felony of the first degree.
(Emphasis supplied.)
Whoever knowingly and willfully resists, obstructs, or opposes any officer
... in the execution of legal process or in the lawful execution of any legal duty, by offering or doing violence to the person of such officer . . . is guilty of a felony of the third degree ....
(Emphasis supplied.) The crime has sometimes been described inaccurately as “resisting arrest with violence.” See, e.g., State v. Espinosa, 686 So.2d 1345 (Fla. 1996). However, neither the title of the statute, “Resisting an officer with violence to his or her person,” nor its explicit terms limit it to arrest scenarios. Cf. N.H. v. State, 890 So.2d 514, 516 (Fla. 3d DCA 2005) (noting that title of
Because the issues we decide are exclusively matters of statutory construction, our review is de novo. Clines v. State, 912 So.2d 550, 555 (Fla.2005). In construing statutes, we first consider the plain meaning of the language used. Id.; State v. Ruiz, 863 So.2d 1205, 1209 (Fla. 2003). When the language is unambiguous and conveys a clear and definite meaning, that meaning controls unless it leads to a result that is either unreasonable or clearly contrary to legislative intent. State v. Burris, 875 So.2d 408, 410 (Fla.2004).
II. Construction of Section 776.051(1)
We reject the Fifth District‘s use of the interpretive maxim in pari materia to engraft the prohibition into
In addition, contrary to the Fifth District‘s determination,
Accordingly, we agree with the First District in Taylor and hold that
III. Defining Lawful Execution of a Legal Duty
Because the prohibition in
In Taylor, the First District reviewed the sufficiency of the evidence on the lawful execution element by applying Fourth Amendment law governing warrantless entry by police into a home. 740 So.2d at 90. This approach is consistent with precedent reviewing convictions of resisting arrest without violence under
Gauging the “lawful execution” element by the law governing the duty undertaken is also consistent with precedent holding that the element should not be defined in a manner that takes the issue from the jury. In State v. Anderson, 639 So.2d 609, 610-11 (Fla.1994), this Court approved a jury instruction stating that “effecting a lawful arrest constitutes lawful execution of a legal duty.” In other cases, district courts have reversed convictions because of erroneous jury instructions that referred to the specific defendant in a manner that removed from the jury the issue of the lawfulness of the officer‘s actions. See, e.g., Smith v. State, 907 So.2d 582, 585 (Fla. 5th DCA 2005) (error to instruct jury that “detaining the defendant constitutes lawful execution of a legal duty“); Royster v. State, 643 So.2d 61, 65 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994) (error to instruct jury that “arresting and taking custody of the defendant does constitute the lawful execution of a legal duty or the execution of a legal process“); Starks v. State, 627 So.2d 1194, 1196 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993) (instruction that “the attempt to stop Mr. Starks constitutes a lawful execution of a legal duty” incorrect).
We decline to adopt less precise standards that would inevitably bring subjectivity and hence greater uncertainty into the process for determining when an officer is acting in the lawful performance of legal duties. This is consistent with the United States Supreme Court‘s refusal to adopt a subjective “reasonable officer” test in determining the constitutional validity of traffic stops. See Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806, 808, 819, 116 S.Ct. 1769, 135 L.Ed.2d 89 (1996) (adhering to probable cause test for traffic stops and rejecting test of whether a police officer, acting reasonably, would have made the stop for the reason given); see also Holland v. State, 696 So.2d 757, 759 (Fla.1997) (applying Whren under
THIS CASE
Tillman asserts that the officer was not lawfully executing a legal duty when he entered the pool enclosure, frisked Tillman for weapons, and prevented Tillman from leaving the officer‘s presence.
Absent consent, a search warrant, or an arrest warrant, a police officer may enter a private home only when there are exigent circumstances for the entry. Taylor, 740 So.2d at 90 (citing Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573, 100 S.Ct. 1371, 63 L.Ed.2d 639 (1980)).6See also Brigham City v. Stuart, ___ U.S. ___, 126 S.Ct. 1943, 1947, 164 L.Ed.2d 650 (2006) (discussing exigency exception). The zone of protection under the Fourth Amendment extends to the curtilage of a home, which includes a fenced or enclosed area encompassing the dwelling. See State v. Rickard, 420 So.2d 303, 306 (Fla.1982) (noting that courts will not allow a warrantless search or seizure in a constitutionally protected area such as one‘s back yard).
In Payton, the United States Supreme Court stated that “the Fourth Amendment has drawn a firm line at the entrance to the house. Absent exigent circumstances, that threshold may not reasonably be crossed without a warrant.” 445 U.S. at 590, 100 S.Ct. 1371. This Court recently noted:
The circumstances in which the Supreme Court has applied the exigent circumstances exception are “few in number and carefully delineated.” They include pursuing a fleeing felon, preventing the destruction of evidence, searching incident to a lawful arrest, and fighting fires. Outside of those established categories, the Supreme Court “has often heard, and steadfastly rejected, the invitation to carve out further exceptions to the warrant requirement for searches of the home.”
Riggs v. State, 918 So.2d 274, 279 (Fla. 2005) (citations omitted) (quoting United States v. U.S. Dist. Court, 407 U.S. 297, 318, 92 S.Ct. 2125, 32 L.Ed.2d 752 (1972), and Illinois v. Rodriguez, 497 U.S. 177, 192, 110 S.Ct. 2793, 111 L.Ed.2d 148 (1990)).
Contrary to the Fifth District‘s determination, Tillman‘s status as a guest does not preclude application of the law governing warrantless entry into a home in determining whether the officer was lawfully executing a legal duty. The “lawful execution” element does not carry with it the standing requirements that have developed in Fourth Amendment precedent. Even if Tillman‘s status as a guest would deprive him of standing to seek suppression of evidence that might have been seized from the home,7 that status is irrelevant to the determination whether the State established that the officer was in the lawful execution of his duties when the struggle with Tillman occurred.
Assuming arguendo that the officer was in the lawful execution of a legal duty when he entered the pool enclosure,
Whenever any law enforcement officer of this state encounters any person under circumstances which reasonably indicate that such person has committed, is committing, or is about to commit a violation of the criminal laws of this state or the criminal ordinances of any municipality or county, the officer may temporarily detain such person for the purpose of ascertaining the identity of the person temporarily detained and the circumstances surrounding the person‘s presence abroad which led the officer to believe that the person had committed, was committing, or was about to commit a criminal offense.
This standard is consonant with the holding in Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 21, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968), which requires “specific and articulable facts which, taken together with rational inferences from those facts, reasonably warrant that intrusion.” For reasonable suspicion justifying a detention to exist, “the detaining officers must have a particularized and objective basis for suspecting the particular person stopped of criminal activity.” United States v. Cortez, 449 U.S. 411, 417-18, 101 S.Ct. 690, 66 L.Ed.2d 621 (1981). An officer making an investigatory stop “must be able to articulate something more than an `inchoate and unparticularized suspicion or “hunch.“‘” United States v. Sokolow, 490 U.S. 1, 7, 109 S.Ct. 1581, 104 L.Ed.2d 1 (1989) (quoting Terry, 392 U.S. at 27, 88 S.Ct. 1868). Terry further provides that an officer may frisk a detained person for weapons if the police officer has a reasonable suspicion that the person is armed and poses a threat to the officer or others. 392 U.S. at 27, 88 S.Ct. 1868; see also J.L. v. State, 727 So.2d 204, 206 (Fla.1998) (“The circumstances may... require a frisk of the person to determine whether the person is carrying a weapon, if the police officer has a reasonable suspicion that the person is armed and poses a threat to the officer or others.“), aff‘d, 529 U.S. 266, 120 S.Ct. 1375, 146 L.Ed.2d 254 (2000).
In this case, the officer twice exerted control over Tillman indicative of a Fourth Amendment seizure: first when the officer performed a weapons search against Tillman‘s wishes8 and again when the officer prevented Tillman from leaving his presence. The detention of Tillman constituted lawful execution of a legal duty only if the facts known to the officer created a reasonable suspicion either that Tillman was involved in criminal activity or that he was armed and dangerous.
The Fifth District, which concluded that “the technical illegality” of an officer‘s actions does not defeat a prosecution for battery on an officer and resisting with violence, did not apply the standards we adopt today when it assessed the sufficiency of the evidence to support Tillman‘s convictions. See Tillman, 807 So.2d at 108-09. Our holding that
Without question, the statutory enhancement of the assault and battery offenses against law enforcement officers in
For the reasons explained herein, we approve the holding in Taylor that the prohibition on the use of force to resist an arrest in
It is so ordered.
LEWIS, C.J., and WELLS, ANSTEAD, QUINCE, and CANTERO, JJ., concur.
BELL, J., specially concurs with an opinion, in which WELLS and CANTERO, JJ., concur.
BELL, J., specially concurring.
I join the majority because I cannot say that it is unreasonable to interpret the “lawful execution of a legal duty” element in
It is clear that the purpose behind
While the effect of our interpretation of this element is uncertain, I am concerned that this decision may be applied in a manner that requires the State to prove that every aspect of a law enforcement
A review of other states’ laws indicates that similar statutes exist in nearly every other state,9 but only a few of these statutes use the narrow phrase “lawful performance.”10 Most of these statutes use a broader phrase to define the scope of the enhanced protection for law enforcement officers. They require that the official be “engaged in the execution of any official duties,” acting “within the scope of his authority,” acting “in an official capacity,” or acting “in the performance of his duties.” See, e.g.,
Many of these states do not require a showing that the officer‘s action was technically lawful in order to submit the case to the jury. See State v. Yoshida, 195 Ariz. 183, 986 P.2d 216, 218 (Ct.App.1998) (“[W]e have no difficulty in concluding that the term `official duties,’ as it appears in [Arizona Revised Statutes Annotated] section 13-1204, encompasses all aspects of a peace officer‘s good faith performance of his or her job-related duties, even if the officer‘s actions are later found to be constitutionally unreasonable.“); Robinson v. State, 814 N.E.2d 704, 708-09 (Ind.Ct.App. 2004) (finding officers’ entry into the defendant‘s home did not comply with the Fourth Amendment jurisprudence but, nonetheless, finding the evidence supported the jury‘s verdict that defendant was guilty of battery of a law enforcement officer, a crime requiring the State show the officers were “engaged in the execution of [their] official duty“); State v. Gardiner, 814 P.2d 568, 574 (Utah 1991) (finding the requirement in
This Court‘s interpretation of the statutory language is a fair one. But, given the above, whether the plain meaning of the term “lawful performance” conforms to legislative intent or narrows the scope of protection too far is an important question the Legislature should examine in light of this decision.
WELLS and CANTERO, JJ., concur.