Case Title: State v. Longstreet

Citation: 619 S.W.2d 97

Docket Number: 

State: tennessee

Court: Tennessee Supreme Court

Date: 1981-07-13T00:00:00Z

Document:
619 S.W.2d 97 (1981) STATE of Tennessee, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. Sam LONGSTREET, Defendant-Appellee. Supreme Court of Tennessee, at Jackson. July 13, 1981. Robert A. Grunow, Deputy Atty. Gen., Nashville, for plaintiff-appellant. Hughie Ragan, George Googe, Jackson, for defendant-appellee. DROWOTA, Justice. The defendant, Sam Longstreet, was convicted of murder in the second degree and sentenced to twenty years in the state penitentiary. The Court of Criminal Appeals, holding that the trial court improperly admitted into evidence a rifle found in the defendant's car, reversed the conviction and dismissed. The State applied for permission to appeal to this Court, contending that the search of the defendant's automobile was constitutionally proper. We granted the application primarily to review the correctness of the Court of Criminal Appeals' conclusion that there were no exigent circumstances present in this case that would justify a warrantless search of the defendant's automobile. The victim, Carolyn Love, was shot in the face with a small caliber weapon. The shooting occurred on June 3, 1979, in the parking lot of a Jackson night spot. Immediately after the shooting, Sergeant Marvin Spencer talked with the victim's sister and aunt and learned that the defendant had been dating the victim but that they had recently been having problems. He also learned that the defendant had threatened to kill Ms. Love if she broke off their relationship. Sergeant Spencer learned that the defendant had been to the victim's residence *98 twice the night of the shooting, once to give Ms. Love and her sister a ride home and a second time to bring her sister a sandwich. On his second visit, the defendant was told that Ms. Love was preparing to leave in a taxi. Sergeant Spencer was also told that the victim's uncle, a Mr. Thomas Robinson, had loaned the defendant his .22 caliber rifle two or three weeks prior to the shooting. The officer attempted to contact the defendant, but defendant's brother said he had left the morning of the shooting to go to Illinois. Two days later, on 5 June 1979, the defendant voluntarily appeared at the Jackson Police Department. Sergeant Spencer advised him of his Miranda rights and had him formally booked. Later, Spencer again gave the defendant his Miranda rights and had him sign a waiver form. The Sergeant learned, upon questioning the defendant, that the .22 caliber rifle was in the trunk of defendant's car which was parked outside the police station. The defendant denied, however, the Sergeant's request for permission to look at the rifle. At this point in the questioning, the defendant requested an attorney and indicated that he wanted to stop the discussion. Next, Sergeant Spencer sought and obtained a search warrant. He obtained the warrant by signing the following affidavit: The affidavit was false because at the time the warrant was obtained, Sergeant Spencer had not spoken with Thomas Robinson at all. His first contact with Robinson was two days later. Pursuant to the warrant, a search of the defendant's automobile produced the .22 caliber rifle. At trial, a firearms examiner testified that the rifle found in the defendant's car was the same rifle that fired a cartridge casing which was found about six feet from the victim's head. This testimony was the primary evidence linking the defendant to the crime. The Court of Criminal Appeals correctly concluded that the search warrant was defective. Judge Scott's analysis was as follows: The State contends here as it did in the Court of Criminal Appeals, however, that the search and seizure were proper notwithstanding the invalidity of the search warrant. The State's position is that in this case there was both probable cause and exigent circumstances and that, therefore, no warrant was even necessary. See Chambers v. Maroney, 399 U.S. 42, 90 S. Ct. 1975, 26 L. Ed. 2d 419 (1970). We agree, as did the Court of Criminal Appeals, that the officer had probable cause to believe the murder weapon was in defendant's car. We cannot conclude, however, that there were exigent circumstances such as would alleviate the necessity of securing a valid search warrant. Once again, we adopt Judge Scott's analysis: Since the search warrant was defective and no exigent circumstances were present to justify a warrantless search, we hold that the search was illegal and that the trial court should have suppressed introduction of the rifle into evidence. Finally, the State contends that it was error for the Court of Criminal Appeals to dismiss the prosecution. The court below felt constrained to dismiss the prosecution under the authority of Burks v. United States, 473 U.S. 1, 98 S. Ct. 2141, 57 L. Ed. 2d 1 (1978). In Burks, the Supreme Court held that the Double Jeopardy Clause prohibited retrial of a defendant whose conviction was reversed because the reviewing appellate court found the evidence insufficient to sustain the verdict of the jury. Burks had unsuccessfully presented an insanity defense in the district court. On appeal, the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit reversed, holding that the government had failed to rebut Burks' evidence of insanity. The Court of Appeals left it up to the trial court to balance the equities and decide whether or not to order a new trial. See Bryan v. United States, 338 U.S. 552, 70 S. Ct. 317, 94 L. Ed. 335 (1950). The United States Supreme Court held that when reversal is due to evidentiary insufficiency, any retrial of the defendant would constitute double jeopardy. In Greene v. Massey, 437 U.S. 19, 98 S. Ct. 2151, 57 L. Ed. 2d 15 (1978), decided the same day as Burks, the Supreme Court applied the Burks holding to a state court conviction.[1] In Greene, a Florida trial court had improperly admitted into evidence hearsay which was highly incriminating. The Florida Supreme Court reversed the conviction but remanded for a new trial. The Florida Supreme Court's per curiam opinion, however, indicated that the court was of the opinion that the evidence was insufficient. The United States Supreme Court could not tell from the Florida court's opinion whether it felt the remaining legally competent evidence was insufficient or whether the Florida court felt that all the evidence, including the hearsay, would have been insufficient to support a conviction. The Supreme Court, therefore, simply remanded to the Florida Supreme Court for reconsideration in light of Burks. It expressly reserved, in footnote nine, the Double Jeopardy implication of an appellate court ordering a new trial when the appellate court finds error in the receipt of evidence and is of the opinion that the remaining legally competent evidence is insufficient to support a conviction. This is the problem posed by this case. Recently in United States v. Harmon, 632 F.2d 812 (9th Cir.1980), the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit discussed this issue. Harmon had been convicted in a *101 trial in which the trial court admitted evidence obtained through a wiretap which was held on appeal to be illegal. The court held that retrial would not violate the Double Jeopardy Clause. The holding was based on at least two considerations. First, it is impossible to know what additional evidence the government might have produced had the faulty evidence been excluded at trial or what theory the government might have pursued had the evidentiary ruling of the trial court been different. A rule which would require the government to introduce all available evidence and assert every possible legal theory in anticipation of appellate reversal of trial court rulings would unduly prolong and clutter the original trial. Second, there is a risk that appellate courts would be less zealous in protecting the pretrial and trial rights of the accused if they knew reversal of a trial court's ruling would bar further prosecution. In United States v. Mandel, 591 F.2d 1347 (4th Cir.1979), the court allowed a retrial of defendants who had been prejudiced by the improper receipt of hearsay evidence. The court relied on yet another reason for allowing retrial, that consideration being the undesirability of the appellate court supplanting the role of the jury as trier of fact.[2] 591 F.2d 1374. See also, United States v. Block, 590 F.2d 535, 544 n. 12 (4th Cir.1978). The conclusion reached in Harmon, Mandel and Block, supra, is supported by the language employed by the Supreme Court in Burks. The Burks court was careful to distinguish evidentiary insufficiency from trial error. It stated: See also, U.S. v. DiFrancesco, ___ U.S. ___, ___, 101 S. Ct. 426, 433-434, 66 L. Ed. 2d 328 (1980). For the reasons discussed, we are of the opinion that a retrial of this defendant would not violate the Double Jeopardy Clause. We, therefore, modify the order of the Court of Criminal Appeals insofar as it dismisses the prosecution. Of course, without the murder weapon, the State may choose not to retry. Our decision merely leaves this option open. Costs of this appeal shall be taxed against the State of Tennessee. HARBISON, C.J., and FONES, COOPER and BROCK, JJ., concur. [1] The Burks rationale has also been applied where a trial judge, acting as thirteenth juror, directs a judgment of acquittal based upon the insufficiency of the evidence. Hudson v. Louisiana, ___ U.S. ___, 101 S. Ct. 970, 67 L. Ed. 2d 30 (1981). At least two federal district courts have applied Burks when the district court, reviewing a state conviction pursuant to a writ of habeas corpus, reverses the state conviction based upon evidentiary insufficiency. See Delk v. Atkinson, 498 F. Supp. 1282 (M.D.Tenn. 1980); Accord, Bentley v. Cox, 508 F. Supp. 870 (E.D.Va. 1981). [2] This consideration militates against the familiar process by which appellate courts uphold convictions when error committed at trial is deemed harmless. In that context, however, other considerations outweigh the problem of the appellate court acting as trier of fact.